ABILENE, Texas – After playing eight straight road games over the last two weeks, McMurry University Baseball made its triumphant return to Abilene on Tuesday with an emphatic 20-13 win over UT Dallas at Walt Driggers Field.

The War Hawks (9-21) have now won six straight home games, dating back to March 30 against Schreiner. They also win the season series against UT Dallas (19-9), taking two of three midweek games this season.

McMurry overcame a 7-4 deficit with three runs in the fifth inning, then underwent a see-saw battle into the sixth. The Comets regained a 10-9 lead in the top of the seventh, but the War Hawks came out of the stretch with seven runs to take the lead. McMurry added four more in the eight for insurance.

The last 20 run game for McMurry came on April 14, 2017 against Howard Payne – a 20-1 victory. The school record for runs is 40, set on March 20, 1998 against Grinnell.

Additionally, McMurry finished with 20 hits on the day. According to available records, McMurry has not accomplished this feat since at least 2014. The program record for hits is 30, set in both 2003 (Southwestern) and 2006 (Sul Ross State).

Senior Javier Rosa was the catalyst of the offense, going 5-for-6 at the top of the lineup. Rosa finished with a double, a home run, three singles, four runs and four RBI.

Three War Hawks had three hit days – Mike Gonzales, Nick Hamel and Marty Carnahan – while Sam Hillyer and Ryan Potter added two hits. Potter went deep twice in the contest for four RBI, while Hamel added a homer and a double. Hamel led the team with five RBI.

McMurry finished with four home runs and five two-baggers for a season-high nine multi-base hits. UTD had six on their end, including two deep balls from Marcos Villegas.

The game did not start well for McMurry, as the Comets soared to a 5-0 lead in the first two frames. McMurry added a run in the third on an RBI single by Hamel, but really made some noise later in the inning on a three-run shot by Potter.

The Comets added a pair of runs to its lead the next two innings to make it 7-4. This raised the ire of the War Hawks, as the bats came alive from that point on. McMurry tied things up in the fifth with back-to-back homers from Hamel and Potter. Both hitters found the safety net in left field, with Hamel skying a two-run shot and Potter going solo for his second of the game.

The teams traded two runs in the sixth to keep it tied, 9-9. UTD struck for a pair on a throwing error with the bases loaded, but McMurry atoned with a two-run bomb off the bat of Rosa, his fourth hit in as many plate appearances to that point.

UTD took its last lead in the seventh inning, scoring a sac fly off Seth Parriette. Despite the run, the junior pitcher closed the frame with a fly out to keep it a one-run deficit.

The bottom of the seventh started with a fielding error by UTD, allowing Ryan Potter to reach. Potter would mark the first of 14 batters to make a plate appearance that inning, as McMurry plated seven runs.

With runners on first and second and one out, senior Kyle Strickland had perhaps the biggest hit of the day with a double to left center field. This brought home Sam Hillyer for the tying run and Marty Carnahan for the go-ahead run all the way from first.

The rout was on from there, as Gonzales and Hillyer each had RBI doubles in the inning. UTD used three pitchers in the frame and trailed 16-10 by the end of the inning.

Hillyer and Potter pitched the eighth and ninth, respectively, holding off the Comets to secure the win. UTD had a pair of RBI groundouts in the eighth and scored one on a fielder's choice in the ninth. The War Hawks also had insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a quartet of runs – two on a single by Rosa and two on a double by Hamel.

Parriette picked up his first win of the season for his efforts in the seventh.


Pitchers of record:
W – Seth Parriette (1-0)
L – Brandon Bane (0-1)
 

On deck:
The War Hawks will host senior weekend at The Walt on Friday and Saturday as they welcome Sul Ross State (9-18) for an important American Southwest Conference series.

First pitch Friday is set for 7 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. After the series finale, the War Hawks will host a special Senior Day celebration for its 11 graduating players.
 
This weekend's series could carry postseason implications, as both Sul Ross State (6-15 ASC) and McMurry (5-16 ASC) are on the outside looking in for the ASC Tournament eighth seed.