Round Rock, TX - The McMurry War Hawks were defeated by Concordia at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas, with a final score of 11-7 in ten innings. This loss eliminated the War Hawks from the SCAC Baseball Championships.
Similar to their first meeting, McMurry started strong early in the game. In the bottom of the 1st inning, scoring three runs.
Koy Carpenter led off the inning with a ringing double to right field.
Ty Nelson reached on a bunt single, moving Carpenter to third.
Riley Hood singled to score Carpenter,
Collin Bruning singled to score
Ty Nelson, and advanced Hood to third.
Nolan Scherencel grounded out to score
Riley Hood.
Concordia (Texas) responded in the top of the 2nd inning, scoring two runs. The Tornados took the lead in the top of the 4th inning, scoring three runs to make it 5-3.
Concordia added two more runs in the top of the 7th on a sacrifice fly and a double to push their lead to 7-3.
McMurry worked to get back into the game at the bottom of the eighth with a two-out single by Scherencel that brought in Hood to shrink Concordia's lead to 7-4.
In the 9th, the War Hawks were able to tie the ball game and push it into extra innings. With two outs,
Koy Carpenter got things going drawing a walk.
Ty Nelson would reach on an error, moving Carpenter into scoring position.
Riley Hood singled down the right field line, bringing in Carpenter.
Collin Bruning would get on base following a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases.
Michael Smosna would come through with a two-run single, scoring Nelson and Hood. The three-run inning deadlocked the score 7-7.
Concordia would have the upper hand in the extra frame, scoring four runs McMurry couldn't overcome, giving the Tornados an 11-7 win to advance to face Trinity University in the SCAC Conference Final Sunday evening.
Despite the loss, the McMurry War Hawks are hopeful to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament after an outstanding season that saw them win 32 games combined during the regular season and SCAC Tournament. The 2025 D-III baseball playoff field will be announced May 11th with the 23 at-large bids awarded to the top teams who have not qualified as tournament winners in the NPI rankings.
