Boxscore

ABILENE, Texas -- Hardin-Simmons baseball rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to drop Howard Payne 8-7 in American Southwest Conference action at Hunter Field on Friday evening.

J.T. Armstrong delivered the game-winning blow his second walk-off winner for the Cowboys of the season as he drove in Matt Roam and Austin Cantwell, who had pinch ran for Regan Dixon. Brian Weeks led off the inning with a single and Roam was hit by a pitch. Dixon tried to bunt but Weeks was cut down at third. Armstrong then delivered a double to the left center gap to score Cantwell from first.

HPU jumped two a 2-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Cale Thompson and Ryan Breeding. HSU tied at 2-2 in the fourth on a Taylor Berlin fielder's choice grounder and a RBI single by Jaxon Jordan.

HSU added three runs in the fifth on a Armstrong RBI double, a RBI single by James Gage and an RBI double by Michael Morgan. Breeding had a two-run home run in the sixth over the center field wall to make the score 5-4.

HPU scored an unearned run in the seventh to tie the game at 5-5. Gage hit a long solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to give HSU a 6-5 lead.

In the top of the ninth Kyle Loyd led off with a walk and Jordan Hammontree had a bunt single. Taylor Zambreski bunted the runners over and Garrett Isom hit a two-run double to center field. Cowboy reliever Kyle Barton, who had got out of a jam in the seventh got the Cowboys to the dugout to set up the dramatics.

Barton got the win for the Cowboys to move to 6-0. Dustin Climer went the distance for Howard Payne and he fell to 1-5 with the loss. He scattered 12 hits in eight and 1/3 innings of work.

Gage and Armstrong each had three hits and Hammontree had three for Howard Payne.

The Cowboys are 17-13 on the year and 8-5 in league play. HPU fell to 12-16 and 5-8 in league action. The teams play in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.