BROWNWOOD, Texas – McMurry University Baseball has now won six of its last seven games, staying hot with a dominant 12-3 win Friday to open a three-game American Southwest Conference series at Howard Payne.
Five of the team's 12 runs were scored by Reed Hodges, tying a single-game record for individual runs scored. Only five other players have accomplished this – Mike Eckert (1996), Joe Fichera (2000), Steve Yurchick (2007), Tre Lips (2009) and Ricky Garcia (2015). Hodges reached in all five plate appearances, including two singles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Futhermore, Hodges extended his hit streak to 19 games and his on-base streak to 27 games in 27 appearances.
McMurry (18-16, 12-13 ASC) led the whole way, starting with two runs in the opening frame. Josh Dyer began the scoring with a two-run homer to right field. He finished 1-for-2 with a homer, two sac flies and four RBI.
The War Hawks added three runs in the third to make it 5-0, including an back-to-back RBI hits by Hodges and Nick Hamel. Following his double, Hamel moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly by Dyer.
Freshman Dylan Abbott also traded a flyout for a run, scoring Hodges for his third run in the fifth inning to make it 6-0.
This proved to be plenty of run support for senior ace Derek Hostas, who twirled a quality start with a season-high 8.0 innings of work. He allowed three tough runs on six hits with just one walk and eight strikeouts. The eight innings is the most he's pitched since his freshman year in 2019.
Howard Payne (11-23, 6-19 ASC) eventually scored in the fifth inning in a unique way, as Noah Coronado hit a deep shot to the warning track in left field. The ball bounced off a chasing glove near the wall and over the fence for a two-run homer.
Leading 7-3 after the eighth, McMurry sewed things shut with five insurance runs in the ninth.
Blake Beach led off with a single and scored on an RBI single by Hamel, then Hodges scored on a sac fly from Dyer after reaching on a hit-by-pitch. Javier Rosa drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded to score Hamel, then Dylan Lee took advantage of the situation with a two-run single to score Abbott and Blaze Rickerson.
With a padded lead, Hostas was replaced in the ninth by Grayson Winter. The rookie earned the final three outs with no hits or walks allowed and a strikeout.
Beach and Hamel each had three-hit days, as Hamel now rides a seven-game hit streak and is hitting .446 on the season. Rosa added two hits, while Dyer, Abbott, Rickerson and Lee had one apiece. Beach and Koy Carpenter each stole a base.
McMurry has now won five of the last six against HPU.
The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader in Brownwood.
