ABILENE, Texas – A fourth inning lapse proved to be the downfall for the McMurry University baseball team in a 19-1 American Southwest Conference loss to Concordia University-Texas at Walt Driggers Field.
 
The loss dropped the War Hawks to 12-26 on the year (6-16 ASC), while the Tornados improved to 25-13 (15-7 ASC).
 
The two teams were scoreless through three innings. However, in the top of the fourth, McM starter Juan Valadez (4-6) was roughed up for seven earned runs, exiting the game after retiring one batter. Reese Etter did not get an out and was charged with four runs, giving CTX 11 runs in the frame before Chase Stone came on the get the final out of the fourth.
 
But Stone would also feel the wrath of the Tornados' bats – which banged out 17 hits in the game – by scoring six runs in the sixth. All six were charged to Stone. Scott Warner, who threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief of Stone, was the only War Hawk hurler to keep CTX in check. Rody Johnson tossed the final two innings and gave up a pair of runs.
 
McMurry had seven hits in all and no player had more than one hit.  Garrett Hurst, who came on in relief behind the plate, had McM's only run batted in with a ninth inning sacrifice fly that plated Chris Baker with the only McMurry run of the night.
 
The two teams close out the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Driggers Field.