ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University baseball team notched its 25th win of the season – winning its seventh-consecutive game – with a 10-1 drubbing of Arlington Baptist College at Walt Driggers Field. It marks the 15th time, since reinstating baseball in 1996, that McM has reached the 25-win plateau in a season.
 
The War Hawks (25-5) also had double-digit hit total for the ninth-straight game and 23rd time in 30 games. The 16 hits versus the Patriots (15-24) was the second most accumulated in a game this season for McMurry. McM also amassed double figures in runs for the 13th time in 2015, as well.
 
As has been the case in most games this season, McM broke on top early with a three-run first inning. Christian Simmons and Patrick Adams had back-to-back singles to open the game. That brought up senior first baseman Cody Howard who, after working a full count, crushed the next pitch from ABC starter Parker Kleinert over the rightfield fence for his fifth home run of the season.
 
In the bottom of the third, Simmons again led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball. Howard then slapped a single to right and, when the ball was misplayed, Simmons came around to score. Later in the frame, designated hitter Ben Douglas laced a double down the rightfield line that plated Ricky Garcia (who had reached on a fielder's choice) to make it 5-0.
 
Arlington Baptist got an unearned run in the fourth off of McM hurler Ben Bates, who improved his personal record to 6-1 with the victory. For the night, Bates would go seven innings, scattering five hits and striking out five. Bates did not walk a batter, improving his season strikeouts-to-walks total to 49-8.
 
In the War Hawks' fifth, an RBI single by Garcia and an RBI double by Douglas upped the margin to 7-1. In the bottom of the sixth, 6-foot-2, 215-lb., thirdbaseman Casey Berryman smacked a drive off of the centerfield fence, lumbering his way to a leadoff triple. Blake Smith's sacrifice fly brought Berryman in.
 
Later in that same inning, Simmons and Howard both hit RBI singles to make the final score 10-1.
 
Howard finished the evening going 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. His double and homer gave him a team-leading 24 extra-base hits and 39 runs batted in for the year. It was also Howard's team-leading 11th game with multiple RBI and 12th extra-base hit game.
 
By going 2-for-4, Douglas extended his streak of reaching base safely to 23 games in a row. Douglas also drove in two runs. Adams also went 2-for-4 in the contest.
 
Simmons, in the leadoff slot, went 3-for-4 and scored three times.
 
McMurry swept the two-game series versus ABC, also winning in Arlington (11-6) back on February 10. McM also leads the all-time series against Arlington Baptist, 5-0.