Box Score
Nathan Love singled up the middle in the bottom of the 11th inning to break a 3-3 tie and McMurry defeated Howard Payne Friday night at Driggers field to tie with Mary Hardin-Baylor atop the American Southwest Conference West Division. Love's single was his first hit of the night as the nine-hole hitter had the game winner off HPU's Adam Garcia who went the distance in the loss for the Yellow Jackets.
Garcia had McMurry hitters baffled most of the game as did McMurry starter Clint Johnston. Garcia went 10.1 innings for his first complete game of the year, he scattered 12 hits, allowed four runs (all earned) walked four and struck out five. After the game, McMurry head coach Lee Driggers told the McMurry radio crew that Garcia's game was the “best they'd faced all year in conference.”
Johnston was solid as well throwing nine innings, allowing only six hits, allowed three runs, walked one and struck out 10. It was a no decision for Johnston but it marked the third time this season that he reached double-digit strikeouts for the game. For the year, Johnston has 64 strikeouts in 67.1 innings of work.
Senior reliever Aaron Wood came in relief and picked up his second win of the season. He sat HPU down in order in the 10th inning and allowed only an infield single in the 11th in two innings of work.
Stephen Derrick broke a 2-2 tie for McMurry in the sixth inning with a solo home run to right centerfield. It was the junior lefthander's seventh of the season. However, HPU struck back in the top of the seventh when Luke Leftwitch hit an opposite field home run for his fifth long ball of the season.
However, Johnston and Wood closed the door and provided the opportunity in the bottom of the 11th. Derrick hit a bloop-single to leftfield and Jeff Jackson followed with another Texas-leaguer to right center to put runners on first and second with no outs.
Gerad Morris bunted both runners in to scoring position before Garcia intentionally walked Ryan Bennett. Then Love took a 1-1 pitch and grounded it up the middle just past the middle infielders and scored Derrick for the winning run.
Mary Hardin-Baylor fell to Concordia-Texas Friday afternoon locking both McMurry and UMHB at the top spot in the West with an 11-5 record. McMurry and Howard Payne will square off Saturday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader.
With five conference games remaining McMurry may be playing without three of its top four hitters. Steven Yurchick was injured in the Concordia series last week hitting .430 for the year, Weston Franco has been battling injuries the past three weeks hitting .414 and Friday night Brent Voorhees went down in the fifth inning with a separated shoulder.
Voorhees was hitting .379 with 10 homers and 49 RBI (2nd in the ASC) before Friday's injury. All three players are out indefinitely.
McMurry improved to 21-13 overall while Howard Payne fell to 14-20 overall and 8-8 in league play.
