MARSHALL, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team battled back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round of the American Southwest Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon in Marshall.
 
UMHB jumped on the board in the first inning when Carson Hagan hit a two-run home run after a leadoff single by Cameron Talburt. Talburt walked with the bases loaded in the second inning to make it 3-0.
 
HSU added a pair of runs in the third on RBI singles by Baylan Vaughan and Jacob Hollingsworth. Rhett Grosz hit a solo home run in the third inning to push the lead to 4-2.
 
The Cowboys added two runs in the sixth inning when Sam Buchkowski singled to center and Kyler Reed and Jett Forrest came around to score to tie the game.
 
Vaughan gave the Cowboys a lead in the seventh inning with an RBI single. Grosz tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI groundout to send the game to an extra inning.
 
In the top of the 10^th, Reed hit a slicing ball down the line in left field and unfortunately Tyler Betts came up injured on the play and the ball rolled into the corner allowing Reed to come all the way around to score the go-ahead run.
 
Caidon Livingston started and went three and one-third innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. He left with the bases loaded in the fourth and Brandon Girod came on and was brilliant for four and two-third innings, allowing the Cowboys to get back into the game with the offense.
 
He walked Talburt to lead off the ninth and Jaydon Stephens replaced him. Talburt was cut down on a fielder's choice but Hagan, who leads the ASC in stolen bases stole second and third base and scored on an infield grounder by Grosz.
 
UMHB put the leadoff man in the 10^th inning on an error, but Stephens got a popup and then started a 1-63 double play.
 
Stephens earned the win to improve to 1-2 on the year and Nicolas Fenner took the loss to fall to 2-4. Fenner worked three innings allowing just one run in relief of James McGlumphy who went seven innings allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits while striking out six.
 
Vaughan, Reed, Forrest, Gannon Azios and Buchkowski each had two hits for the Cowboys in the 13-hit attack. Talburt led UMHB with two hits.
 
The Cowboys (15-24) will play UT Dallas at 11 a.m. on Friday. UMHB fell to 24-16 and will play an elimination game later on Thursday.  
 
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