San Antonio, Texas – Needing to win its final three games of the season to reach the NCCAA regional tournament, the McMurry baseball team will take to the road for a three-game set with St. Mary's University on Thursday and Friday.
 
McM is coming off one of its best offensive outputs of the season as the War Hawks amassed 28 runs in a four-game series against Newman. McMurry took the series, 3-1, by outscoring the Jets 28 – 9. McM dropped game one, 2-1, before taking games two, three and four by scores of 11-4, 11-2 and 5-1, respectively.
 
In the series, the War Hawks received a RBI contribution from 11 different players, led by Cody Howard. Howard went 10-of-15 at the dish and drove in six RBI, including two, two-run homers. The junior also hit a RBI double in the series on his way to earning Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week, as well as the National Christian College Athletic Association's Baseball Student Athlete of the Week.
 
Dylan De Leon also had a solid series at the plate, hitting .375 and collecting six hits and four RBI over the four game span. He also made one of the most exciting plays of the season, hitting an inside-the-park grand slam in the 11-2 victory.
 
On the mound, the pitching staff was dominant, receiving three complete games over the weekend. As a collective unit, the War Hawks hurlers allowed just six earned runs over four games, and held Newman to a collective, .250 batting average. Spencer Smith went the distance in his final home start of his career, allowing just one earned run and eight hits, while striking out eight over nine innings.
 
The Rattlers are coming into the series as the number nine-ranked team in the country as announced by the National Baseball Coaches and Writers Association (NBCWA) this week. St. Mary's is coming off a three-game sweep of Texas A&M – International, taking game one, 3-1, and games two and three by scores of 4-1 and 7-2.
 
Offensively, Howard leads the way for the War Hawks as he ranks seventh in the conference in both batting average (.321) and slugging percentage (.448). He is also first on the team in RBI (18) and in home runs with four. De Leon is also hovering right around the .300 mark as he is hitting .295 on the year with a team-high 46 hits.
 
On the mound, Aaron Burns continues to impress in just his first season. The freshman starter is currently fourth in the conference in wins (7) and strikeouts (60). He also boasts a 7-1 record against Heartland Conference opponents this season.
 
The Rattlers come into the final series of the season, with the best pitching staff in the conference, boasting a team ERA of 2.24. Three different pitchers on the team had a sub-2.0 ERA, led by Jonathan Solis' 1.40. Solis also boasts a 7-0 record and two complete games over 10 appearances.
 
The last time these two teams squared off, the War Hawks were able to take two-of-three from the Rattlers, winning games two and three in walk-off fashion. In game two of the series, Howard provided the game-winning single, scoring Eric Mortiz for the 4-3 win in ten innings. In game three, it was Moritz's turn to provide the heroics as he drove in Nick Marsh for the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
 
To qualify for the NCCAA Central Regional tournament, the War Hawks must have a .500 record, or better. McM had put itself in the position to have a chance to meet that goal, winning seven of its last 10 games. Currently sitting at 22-25, the War Hawks need a series sweep of the Rattlers for a shot at post-season play.
 
Double header action on Thursday afternoon will begin at 4 p.m., with a single, nine-inning contest being played on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.