ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team split a doubleheader with crosstown rival McMurry on Saturday winning 7-6 in the first game before falling 8-5 in the nightcap on Senior Day at Hunter Field.
 
Game 1
McMurry hit a pair of solo home runs in the first inning of the first game to take an early lead but the Cowboys came right back in the bottom of the first inning with three runs to take the lead. Gannon Azios had a bases-loaded walk and Sam Buchkowski had a two-run single to right center in the inning.
 
HSU added to the lead in the third inning on a two-run double by Karson Leatherwood and made it 6-2 in the fourth inning on a Jett Forrest RBI single.
 
McMurry scored two runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Nolan Scherencel. HSU added a huge insurance run on an Azios bomb to right to make it 7-4.
 
Riley Hood walked to leadoff the seventh and Michael Smosna hit a two-run home to cut the HSU lead to 7-6. With one out and a runner on Josh Mueller hit a double to left center but Luke Kirkbride's relay throw to the plate was on target to cut down pinch runner Javier Rosales.  
 
Grant Mitzelfelt started and earned the win with five innings of work allowing four runs on six hits and striking out six. It was his 16^th career win for the Cowboys. Jaydon Stephens worked the final two innings to nail down his fifth save of the year.
 
Seven different Cowboys had one hit each. Ty Nelson, Hood, Smosna and Scherencel each had two hits for McMurry. Ethan Wendel took the loss allowing five runs in two and one-third innings and Will Cooper allowed two runs in three and two-third innings of work.
 
Game 2
The win along with Ozarks loss to East Texas Baptist, which completed early in the second game of the doubleheader gave the Cowboys a berth into the ASC Tournament as the six seed. After that both teams cleared the benches in the second game as 48 players appeared in the game. Both teams will have to play first round games on Thursday so the rest was paramount in the third game.
 
McMurry finally ended up winning the game that took 3:15 minutes and 15 pitchers combined to walk 13 batters and hit three more. HSU left 13 runners on base including leaving the loaded in back-to-back innings.
 
Ty Nelson and Jeremiah Enriquez had two hits each for McMurry. Eight different Cowboys had one hit each.
 
Caidon Livingston took the loss for HSU and Hunter Poe was credited with the win on the bullpen by committee day.
 
HSU is now 14-24 and 9-15 in league play. McMurry finished the season at 20-19 overall and 12-12 in conference play.
 
The Cowboys will play Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round of the ASC Tournament on Thursday at 11 a.m. at East Texas Baptist. McMurry will play Concordia in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.
 
HSU also celebrated its 13 seniors in between games. Cole Antonelli, Azios, Brandon Bane, Buchkowski, Nick Ellington, Forrest, Brandon Girod, Livingston, Mitzelfelt, Stephens, Caleb Smith, Craig Symmes, and Wyatt Tumlinson.
 
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