KERRVILLE, Texas – Sophomore pitcher Jack Poe threw seven lights-out innings, while the senior tandem of Tyler Jenkins and Chris Baker led a 12-hit hitting attack, as the McMurry University baseball team opened the 2018 season with an 8-4 non-conference road win at Schreiner University. The War Hawks (1-0) won their season opener for the first time since 2013, while the Mountaineers fell to 1-5 in 2018.
 
Poe (1-0) gave McM head coach John Byington seven shutout innings, scattering six hits. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. Poe had one runner get into scoring position in each of the second through fifth innings, working out of the potential jam in all four frames.
 
With McMurry ahead 4-0, Chris Lewis tossed the eighth and gave up a pair of runs (one earned).  McM added four runs in the top of the ninth for some extra breathing room, 8-2. Junior Juan Valadez pitched the ninth and was tagged for a pair of runs before closing out the War Hawks' victory.
 
While Poe was masterful on the mound, he also received plenty of support from the McM bats. Specifically, Jenkins and Baker each went 3-for-5, with three runs batted in, accounting for half of their teams hits between them. Jenkins slugged a three-run home run in the ninth, while Baker had a bases-loaded double in the first.
 
Sophomore outfielder Mike Gonzales also amassed three hits (3-4), all of the extra-base variety. Gonzales slapped doubles in the first and second innings, along with an RBI triple in the seventh. He also had a walk in the ninth.
 
Senior shortstop Noah Clarkson (1-3) cranked a double in the ninth for his team's other extra-base hit. Clarkson scored in the final inning on a wild pitch.
 
The teams will complete the three-game series with a Saturday (Feb. 10) doubleheader, beginning at 12 p.m. in Kerrville.