ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team swept a doubleheader from Howard Payne winning 9-1 and 13-12 to sweep the three-game American Southwest Conference series on Saturday at Hunter Field.

Game 1

Grant Mitzelfelt moved to 2-0 with another complete-game outing on the mound. He worked seven innings allowing just four hits and one run, while striking out seven.

The Cowboys pounded out 15 hits in the game. HSU opened the game with a single run in the first on a Keaton Hartman RBI single. Luke Kirkbride had a sacrifice fly in the second inning to make it 2-0.

HSU scored four runs in the third. Jett Forrest hit a two-run home run in the third and Corey Ballew had an RBI double and Weston Hickman an RBI ground ball. Hickman added an RBI single in the fifth and Hartman scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.

HPU scored its lone run in the seventh on a wild pitch.

Frazier and Ballew had three hits each for HSU and four different HPU hitters had one hit each.

Ricky Mays took the loss allowing six runs in two and one-third innings.

Game 2

The second game turned into a slugfest. HSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the second inning. Forrest had an RBI single in the first, Hartman had a sacrifice fly and Ballew a two-run single. In the second inning, Forrest was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, another run on a passed ball and Hartman had his second sacrifice fly.

HPU scored five runs in the third inning on a two-run triple by Derek Gifford, a Noah Coronado RBI single, a R.J. Roberts RBI single. They made it 7-6 with a Coronado RBI single in the fourth.

HSU responded with two runs in the fourth on a Freddy Nunez RBI double and scored another run on a wild pitch. Frazier hit his third home run of the season in the sixth and Ballew had an RBI single. Nunez had an RBI single in the eighth to make it 13-7.

The Yellow Jackets scored five runs in the ninth to make it interesting, but Jaydon Stephens closed it out for the save.

Brandon Girod started and worked two and two-third innings for the Cowboys. Kolten Kitchens worked three and one-third innings of relief allowing two runs to earn the win. Caleb Smith worked two innings of relief. Chandler Paul took the loss for HPU, falling to 0-2.

Kirkbride had three hits for the Cowboys and Joey Villarreal led HPU with four hits.

HSU is 4-2 on the year and in league play. HPU fell to 1-5 overall and in ASC action. The Cowboys host defending ASC champion UT-Dallas next weekend in ASC play.

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