Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

ABILENE, Texas - McMurry and Concordia-Texas split a Saturday doubleheader at Walt Driggers Field with the Tornados taking game one 8-6 in extra innings and McMurry took a 4-3 win in the series finale to avoid the three-game sweep.

In the second game with one out McMurry won the contest in the top of the seventh thanks to a one-out hidden ball trick when Concordia had put two runners on base.

The Tornados moved to 16-12 overall and 8-4 in the American Southwest Conference West Division while the War Hawks moved to 8-19 overall and 5-7 in league play. Below is a recap of each game:

Game Two: McMurry 4 Concordia-Texas

Greg Guse hit the game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, Dylan De Leon hit the go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, and Guse then tagged out baserunner Kris Pearce after taking the ball from reliever Jake Mullin after a meeting just off the mound with runners on first and second in the top of the seventh to key a 4-3 victory over Concordia-Texas.

Guse's homer was the first of the season for the senior, which tied the game at three before DeLeon's second home run of the season gave McMurry the lead in the bottom of the sixth.  McMurry brought Mullin in to close, and he struck out Justin Beasley to lead off the seventh then surrendered a single to Collin Janssen and walked Robert Brown to put runners on first and second with one out.

Pearce had pinch ran after the single by Beasley. After Mullin walked Brown, Guse set up the play with Mullin.

“I told him I wanted him to throw one pitch, and then after that to turn around and make a pickoff attempt,” Guse said.

After catching the “pickoff” attempt, Guse ran to Mullin and behaved as if he was frustrated that Mullin had missed a sign.

“I told him to make sure that he didn't touch any part of the dirt on the mound or it would be a balk,” said Guse. “I thought of the play about a week ago and ran it by [Jake] Mullin and [Clay] Schubert. They both said it wouldn't work, but everything that happened in the inning was scripted. So I just ran back, never gave the ball to Jake and tagged him,”

Initially the field umpire did not call Pearce out, however after a disputation from Guse and McMurry head coach John Byington, they appealed to the home plate umpire who ruled Peace out.

CTX's head coach Tommy Boggs was promptly ejected after he disputed the call.

With two outs, Brown was caught stealing by War Hawks catcher Charlie Hejny who threw to Guse to apply the final put out.

Guse had not played the entire series until the third game and entered the game in the top of the fifth. His solo home run came on a 1-2 pitch and he drove it over the leftfield wall for his first homer of the season. The senior from Pearland said that it's been a tough season, but was glad to get his chance.

“Especially as a senior leader don't want to mope since I haven't been playing as much; I have just kept working hard,” he said. [Coach] Byington told me to get loose, and I just did my job.”

Mullin picked up his first save of the season and Spencer Smith picked up his first victory on the mound in relief. DeLeon drove home two runs to lead the War Hawks.

The Tornados' Colton Gommert drove home two runs in the losing effort for Concordia-Texas and Scott Hays picked up the loss in his first outing of the season in relief.

Game One: Concordia-Texas 8 McMurry 6

Concordia-Texas rallied to score three runs in its final two at bats and kept McMurry scoreless to take an 8-6 victory. Bucky Bryan hit a pinch-hit, two-run double in the top of the eighth, which broke a six-all tie and guaranteed the series for the Tornados.

The two teams exchanged punches in the middle innings and knotted the score at five through five innings. McMurry's Jake Mullin hit a sacrifice fly to score Jacob Bermejo giving the War Hawks a 6-5 lead.

However, in the seventh Robert Brown dropped a squeeze bunt that scored Brent Schaekel to tie the score at six. When McMurry was held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

Bryant delivered a one-out double that scored Kris Peace and Kyle Bieschke, and reliever Bryant Hernandez set McMurry down in order in the bottom of the eight to secure the victory. Hernandez moved to 2-1 on the season. Deen Coleman was charged with the loss for the War Hawks to fall to 0-1 on the year.

Robert Brown and Bryant each drove home two for Concordia and Tyler Cox drove home two for McMurry in the losing effort.