Boxscore

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons opened American Southwest Conference play with a 10-9 win over crosstown rival McMurry Friday night at Hunter Field in Abilene.

HSU used a seven run third inning that proved to be the difference in the game and relief ace Kyle Barton shut the door on McMurry in the final two and one-third innings.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. J.T. Armstrong led off the inning with a double and scored on a Taylor Berlin RBI single. McMurry took the lead in the top of the third on a two-run home run by Tre Lipps.

HSU then exploded for seven runs on eight hits to chase McMurry starter Dakota Smith in the bottom of the third. Matt Roam had a two-run home run in the inning, Regan Dixon added a solo shot and Berlin had a two-run single. Jaxon Jordan capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run double to right.

McMurry added a solo home run by Jake Mullin in the fourth inning and Lips and Stephen Derrick had solo shots in the fifth to narrow the HSU lead to 8-5. HSU responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Jordan had another RBI double and then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Kevin Ellison.

It stayed that way until the top of the seventh when McMurry got a three-run home run by Mullin to make it 10-8. HSU went to relief ace Kyle Barton and he struck out pitch-hitter Matt Thompson to end the seventh with runners on first and second.

McMurry had three straight singles, including the fifth hit of the night by Lips and the fourth by Mullin to score a run. Mullin's hit drove in the run. Barton then got Nathan Jackson on a strikeout to end the inning with two runners on base. He then worked a 1-2-3 ninth with a pair of strikeouts.

Barton went two and one-third innings of relief and struck out five to pick up his fourth save of the year.

Freshman Zach Hewitt stabilized the game on the mound for McMurry with three and two-third innings of two-run relief.

Weeks, Armstrong, Berlin, Gage and Jordan all had two hits for the Cowboys.

Lipps was 5-for-5 with three RBIs and two home runs and Jake Mullin was 4-for-5 with five RBIs.

 HSU is now 9-6 on the year and 1-0 in league play. McMurry fell to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in league play. The teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Hunter Field on Saturday.