ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry University baseball team saw a potential series-win versus Belhaven University slip away in the ninth inning of the finale on Saturday, falling by a 7-6 score at Walt Driggers Field. The War Hawks (3-6) gave up three runs in the Blazers (5-2) final at-bat.
BU put up single runs in the first two innings, before McMurry responded in the bottom of the third. After the War Hawks loaded the bases with two out,
Tyler Jenkins worked the count full before receiving the walk to force in the first run of the day for the hosts.
Noah Clarkson then reached on an error by the third baseman, allowing
Chris Baker to come across with the tying run.
Single runs by the Blazers in the fourth and sixth innings again put the War Hawks behind. McM starter
Jack Poe was chased in the sixth after retiring one batter and was charged with six hits, along with the four earned runs. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Mike Hoffman came on to pitch two innings of scoreless relief.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, McMurry made a big run to overtake BU. Jenkins led off with a walk and went to third on Clarkson's double to left. With one out, pinch hitter
Curtis Summers was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again.
Kevin Garza nursed a walk to make it 4-3 and
Patrick Adams grounded to short, where a throwing error allowed two more runs to score, McM pulled ahead 5-4.
An RBI single by Baker sent Garza home to make it 6-4.
McM reliever
Juan Valadez – who came on in the eighth and retired both men he faced – had a different fate in the ninth, unfortunately for the War Hawks. Valadez walked the first two men he faced, retired one man on a force and then induced a fly out. Needing just a single out to end the game, the McM freshman had two more walks and two hit batters that added three runs for Belhaven's ledger.
Will Dunlap came on to record the final out. However, the damage was done. McMurry's first two batters were retired before Jenkins' single to right kept the McM hopes alive. Clarkson tapped back to the pitcher for the final out of the game.
Clarkson was 2-for-5 with one run, the lone War Hawk with more than one hit. McM's 1-3 batters – Garza, Adams and Baker – each had an RBI, as did Jenkins in the six hole.
