McMurry University baseball won two of three games in its home opener with University of St. Thomas from Houston, losing game one 12-0, and taking game two 6-5 and game three 12-9.
In the first contest Friday, Feb. 16, coach Josh Lee's team fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and couldn't recover. McMurry got seven hits with contributions from junior second baseman Ty Nelson (Scottsdale, Arizona) (2), sophomore third baseman Riley Hood (Abilene, Texas) (2), junior first baseman Nolan Scherencel (Arlington, Texas), junior designated hitter Casey Turner (Kingwood, Texas), and sophomore right fielder Tatum Black (Friendswood, Texas).
Sophomore righty Cooper Marshall (Boerne, Texas) took the loss on the mound.
In Friday's second game, McMurry scored three times in the first inning, once in the third and twice in the fourth. Hood got things going with a single to right field for an RBI that sent Nelson home. Also in the first, sophomore designated hitter Michael Smosna (Lubbock, Texas) advanced to third, and Hood scored on a wild pitch with Smosna also going home on another wild pitch. In the third, Scherencel tripled to center field for an RBI that allowed Hood to cross home plate. In the fourth, junior shortstop Blake Beach (Atascocita, Texas) singled to center field for a 2 RBI which sent junior center fielder Koy Carpenter (La Vernia, Texas) and sophomore catcher Nick Sobolewski (Abilene, Texas) home.
Also providing a hit in the second game was junior left fielder Xavier Escobar (Buda, Texas).
On the mound, freshman lefty Braydon Durst (Fredericksburg, Texas) got the win and is 1-0 on the season. He pitched 5 innings and threw three strikeouts. Backing him up were junior righty Bryson Morrill (Trophy Club, Texas) who threw 2 innings and had two strikeouts; and junior righty Jonathan Enriquez (Galveston, Texas) who threw two innings and struck out five batters.
On Saturday, Feb. 17, McMurry scored once in the first, twice in the third, eight times in the sixth and once in the eighth. Smosna started the offense by singling to the pitcher for an RBI with Nelson going to third base and Carpenter scoring. In the third, senior designated hitter Dylan Abbott (San Angelo, Texas) doubled to left field for a 2 RBI that allowed Smosna and Hood to both go home. In the sixth, Beach singled to left field for an RBI that sent Black to third and Turner across home plate. Nelson grounded out to third base for an RBI which advanced Beach to third and Black home. Also in the sixth, Hood reached first on an error by the shortstop that resulted in an RBI, sending Beach home. Abbott doubled to left field for a 3 RBI which sent Scherencel, Smosna and Hood across home plate. Carpenter singled to the shortstop for a 2 RBI that enabled Black to go to third, and Turner and Abbott to score. In the eighth, Beach was hit by a pitch and Abott went home.
Junior righty Gabriel Aragon (Fort Worth, Texas) got the win and is 1-0 on the season. He pitched 3.1 innings and struck out two batters. Freshman righty Ethan Wendel (Louis, Texas) came on in relief, throwing 5.2 innings and striking out three.
McMurry, 3-3, remains home for a series next weekend against Howard Payne University. First pitch is 7 p.m. Friday at Walt Driggers Field with other games at 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday.
