Boxscore

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' baseball team put up 16 runs, but it was not nearly enough as they lost 26-16 in non-conference action against seventh-ranked Texas-Tyler on Monday afternoon at Hunter Field.

UT-Tyler scored in every inning of the game and in all but two of those innings they scored more than one run. The Patriots had 24 hits and the Cowboys had six errors, walked nine batters, hit three more and had six wild pitches.  The Cowboys threw 226 pitches in the game that took 3:29 to play.

The Patriots scored three runs on five hits in the first inning off Cowboy starter Taylor Berlin (0-1), who was making his first career start on the mound.

HSU came right back with 10 runs in the bottom of the first. Brian Weeks led off with a home run. Regan Dixon had a one-out single, J.T. Armstrong singled and Sam Walker singled to plate a run. Jaxon Jordan then followed with his second home run of the season. Gage hit a home run on the next pitch to end the day for UT-Tyler starter Colby Munchrath.

Joey Dearing greeted Grant Campbell with a single and Kevin Ellison homered to right. After a ground out by Weeks, Matt Roam walked and Dixon hit a two-run home run to right center.

UTT scored a run in the second and three more in the third to make it 10-7, but HSU came right back and scored five runs in the bottom of the third. Dixon hit his eighth home run of the season in the inning, a grand slam and Jordan had an RBI ground out.

After that, Doug Vardeman came in and stabilized the game on the mound for the Patriots. He went four innings and allowed just one run and four hits. The run was a Gage sacrifice fly in the seventh. In the meantime, UTT kept up the offensive onslaught with two runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth to make it 15-14 and finally three more in the sixth to give the Patriots the lead at 17-15 after the top of the seventh. UTT added two in the eighth and six more runs in the ninth.

Offensively, Dixon led the Cowboys with a 4-for-5 day. He homered twice and drove in six. Jordan had four RBIs for HSU.  

Paige Hodges was one of the Patriots many leaders on the day. He was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and nine RBIs from his ninth spot. Joseph Towns was 5-for-6, Jared Hood was 4-for-7 with four RBIs and Brock Lemire was 4-for-5 with five runs scored and five RBIs.

HSU fell to 10-8 with the loss and the Patriots improved to 14-3. HSU will play host to another nationally ranked team, Marietta at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.