ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University baseball unleashed season-best totals of 16 runs and 14 hits in dominating LeTourneau University, 16-2, at Walt Driggers Field. The victory improved the War Hawks to 5-8 on the year, while the YellowJackets fell to 5-7.
 
The two teams will play a doubleheader at McM on Sunday – beginning at 1 p.m. – to close out the three game series.
 
McMurry starting pitcher John Eric Cortez notched his first win of the year (1-3), giving head coach John Byington a strong 6.0 innings of work.  Cortez allowed just four hits, three in the first inning alone when LETU plated the first run of the game. After his somewhat shaky start, Cortez settled down and finished his stint with five strikeouts and four walks, retiring the YellowJackets in order in the fourth.
 
Meanwhile, the War Hawks' offensive juggernaut went to work, beginning in the bottom of the third when McM overtook LeTourneau for good. Patrick Adams led off the frame by coaxing a walk and made it to second on a fielder's choice and error by the LETU second baseman.
 
With one out, Ty Kirk fouled out to left for the second out of the inning, with both runners moving up 90 feet into scoring position. Noah Clarkson then followed by slapping a single to center, driving in both Adams and Baker to make it 2-1, before the final out was recorded.
 
In the fourth, the War Hawks broke the game open by sending10 men to the plate and scoring six times. The big blow came off the bat of Baker, who clubbed his first collegiate home run (a two-run shot to left-center). Tyler Jenkins also slapped a double during the barrage in the fourth.
 
Just for good measure, McM sent nine men to the plate in the sixth, as well, resulting in five more runs on the board. A two-run, pinch-hit single to right by Danny Perkins was a feature of the inning for McMurry.
 
Three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh rounded out the War Hawks' scoring for the day. LETU added a single run in the eighth off of McM reliever Wes Cauley for the 16-2 final score.
 
Clarkson had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Kevin Garza, Nicholas Moore and Blaine McRay each had two hits for McM, as the only other players with a multi-hit game. Moore, Garza and Perkins had two RBI, apiece.
 
Baker was 1-for-4, but scored four times, had two RBI and was hit by a pitch twice.