ABILENE, Texas – In a back-and-forth bout that remain tied all through the middle innings, McMurry University Baseball was unable to answer a seventh inning surge by Sul Ross State. This allowed the Lobos to open the three-game American Southwest Conference series with a 10-7 win at Walt Driggers Field on Friday night.
The War Hawks (9-22, 5-17 ASC) kept pace in the second and third innings, answering a Lobos run with two in the second, then answering a 6-2 deficit in the third with a four run inning. After a pair of scoreless frames, each team added a run in the sixth to tie it at 7-7.
Sul Ross State (10-18, 7-15 ASC) would drive in three runs in the seventh inning and allowed just two hits the rest of the way en route to a series-opening win.
Despite the run totals, pitching had an impact in tonight's contest as junior Derek Hostas dueled Sul Ross ace Sam Russell.
Hostas (2-4) had a career-high nine strikeouts without allowing a walk in 6.2 innings. On the other side, Russell (3-2) threw a complete game with over 125 pitches, finishing with 11 strikeouts and a walk in the win.
Though McMurry's Ryan Potter drew the only walk between both starters, the offenses were alive with a combined 27 hits. Sam Hillyer led the way with two hits, including a three-run home. Freshman Josh De La Rosa also enjoyed a big day in the nine hole, finishing 2-for-4 with a homer, a triple and two RBI.
Javier Rosa put his team on the board in the second inning with an RBI single through the left side, bringing home Kyle Strickland. Later in the inning, Reed Hodges scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of the home team. Hodges finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored on the day.
After a five-run inning for Sul Ross in the third, Hillyer remedied things with a three-run shot to score Potter and Nick Hamel. De La Rosa then tied the game with his run scoring triple to bring in Hodges.
The score stayed frozen until the sixth when a wild pitch allowed the Lobos to bring in another run. De La Rosa came through again in the bottom half with his solo homer deep down the left field line. Sully would go on to win in the seventh behind a 4-for-5, five RBI day by Jared Lorenz.
Pitchers of record:
W – Sam Russell (3-2)
L – Derek Hostas (2-4)
On deck:
McMurry will hold its Senior Day celebration on Saturday as part of a series-ending double header. The first game begins at 1 p.m. and the senior day celebration will begin after the first game. This will be the home finale for the War Hawks this season.
*Scoring Change: The original scoring of Ryan Potter's third inning at-bat as an error has since been changed to a single*
