PLAINVIEW, Texas – McMurry University's youthful baseball team dropped both ends of its season-opening doubleheader at Wayland Baptist University by scores of 12-7 and 18-1 at Wilder Field. The War Hawks are 0-2, while the Pioneers improved to 5-1.
 
In game one, it was McM which broke out of the gate first. Sophomore left-fielder Nick Moore got the first hit of his McMurry career by smashing a one-out home run to left in the top of the second inning, putting the War Hawks on top, 1-0. But in the bottom on the frame, the Pioneers started a scoring spree that produced 11 runs over the next four innings for the host team.  WBU would plate four runs in the second, three in the fourth and another four-spot in the bottom of the fifth, making it 11-1.
 
In the top of the sixth, McMurry got off the deck to tighten matters. With two out, Tyler Jenkins singled and Moore drew a walk. Ty Kirk and Taylor Ward had back-to-back RBI singles to make it 11-3.  Noah Clarkson drew a base on balls to load the bases. That brought up Kevin Garza. Garza worked the count to 3-2 off of Pioneers' reliever Kyle Parriera, and then fouled off a pair of pitches before drawing a bases-loaded walk. That made it 11-4, before the next batter, Patrick Adams, fouled out to first on the first pitch to end the uprising.
 
The Pioneers led off the bottom of the sixth by getting a ball up into the "wind tunnel" in Plainfield, blowing to left (at 20-plus miles per hour), which carried the ball out for WBU's fourth round-tripper of the game. The solo shot made it 12-4.
 
But the War Hawks were still not finished. In the top of the seventh - and final - inning of the first game, McM added three more runs to its final total.   A leadoff single by Colton Chalker and a Chris Baker walk put a pair of runners on and both advanced an additional base on a wild pitch, putting two runners in scoring position for Jenkins. 
 
Jenkins responded by slapping his second double of the day down the rightfield line, driving in both Chalker and Jenkins. After a WBU pitching change, Jenkins moved over to third on a fly out and would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kirk, making it 12-7, before the final out was registered of the seven inning contest.
 
Jenkins finished the game going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two runs batted in and collecting all of his team's extra-base hits with the pair of doubles. Kirk was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Ward went 2-for-4 with a RBI as the only War Hawks with multiple hits.
 
Junior John Eric Cortez - McMurry's starting pitcher - lasted 3.2 innings and was charged with seven runs, all earned, in absorbing the loss.
 
In game two, the Pioneers blasted three more homers – giving them seven on the day – in an 18-1 win over the War Hawks.  McMurry's only run of the game came in the top of the sixth inning.
 
Sophomore leadoff hitter Chase Bledsoe went 2-for-3 and Danny Perkins came off the McM bench to go 2-for-2. Adrian Spencer was credited with McM's lone RBI of the game.
 
Junior transfer Garrett Johnston was chased after two innings. Johnston gave up 11 of the Pioneers' 20 hits and charged with 10 runs (all earned).  Johnston was the first of an eventual five War Hawk hurlers in the nightcap.
 
The same two teams square off again on Sunday in Abilene. The doubleheader at Walt Driggers Field begins at noon.