ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team split an American Southwest Conference doubleheader at crosstown rival McMurry, falling 5-4 in the first game and coming back for a 7-1 win in the nightcap.

Game 1

Just like the first game of the series, McMurry rallied in the late innings for the win.

Reed Hodges had an RBI single and another came in on the back end of a double play to give the War Hawks a 2-0 lead in the first inning. HSU scored a run in the second on a Luke Kirkbride RBI single.

After Hamel added an RBI single in the third to give McMurry a 3-1 lead, HSU scored three times in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Jett Forrest homered and after Corey Ballew was hit by a pitch Gannon Azios clubbed a two-run shot to right field.

The War Hawks had the answer in the sixth as Xavier Escobar had a sacrifice fly and Blaze Rickerson had an RBI single up the middle.

Grant Mitzelfelt went the distance for his fourth complete game of the year but took the loss to fall to 3-4 on the year. He allowed five runs on seven hits. Marty Carnahan went six innings for McMurry to improve to 3-1 and Hamel worked the seventh for his fourth save of the year.

Azios and Kirkbride had two hits each for the Cowboys. Hamel had two more hits for the War Hawks.

Game 2

Brandon Girod continued his hot string of pitching in the nightcap as he recorded his third-straight nine-inning complete game. He scattered nine hits and struck out a career-best nine in the game. Jonathan Enriquez allowed four runs in four and one-third innings to take the loss.

Logan Mercer had an RBI single in the first inning for the only run of the game for the War Hawks. Girod worked out of a jam with a double play and a strike out to end the inning.

HSU was stymied offensively until the fifth when it exploded for four runs. Weston Hickman had a bases-loaded walk, Kirkbride a two-run single and Garrett Frazier an RBI groundout.

Forrest had a sacrifice fly for the Cowboys in the seventh and Sam Buchkowski and Hickman had RBI singles in the eighth.  

Azios had two more hits as eight of the nine Cowboys had a hit in the game. Mercer, Hodges and Blake Beach had two hits each for McMurry.

HSU is now 16-13 on the year and 10-11 in league play and McMurry improved to 15-16 overall and 11-13 in ASC play. The Cowboy will host Belhaven next weekend in their next action.

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