ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team lost a 12-11 game in 10 innings to crosstown opponent McMurry on Tuesday night at Hunter Field.
 
The game was a marathon that went 4:14 minutes and saw 14 pitchers used, the teams combined for 16 walks and four hit batters, HSU stole a school-record nine bases and both teams rallied from deficits. McMurry had the last rally and controversially tied the game in the top of the ninth.
 
HSU led 11-8 going into the ninth inning. Riley Hood cut the deficit to 11-9 with an RBI double and Jaxon Rhea added a two-run double with two outs. Rhea's double was down the left field line, the Cowboys ran a perfect relay and Riley Hood was out by a lot at home plate that would have ended the game. The umpire after the Cowboys were celebrating on the field, called an obstruction at the plate allowing the tying run to come in.
 
The Cowboys had a chance to win the game in the ninth when Jacob Hollingsworth led off with single, Karson Leatherwood pinch-ran for him and stole second base and moved to third on an infield single by Jake Trapani, but Bryson Morrill (2-0) was able to get out of the jam to push the game to the 10^th inning.
 
In the 10^th, Xavier Escobar hit a home run for the War Hawks and Jonathan Enriquez struck out the side in the 10^th inning for his second save of the year.
 
Brady Bennett came in the ninth inning and got out of a jam to keep the game tied, but he allowed the home run to Escobar and took the loss to fall to 1-2.
 
McMurry scored a run in the first on a Michael Smosna RBI single and Beckham Paul had a two-run home run in the third to make it 3-0. HSU came back with a Quincy McGraw RBI double and Luke Kirkbride sacrifice fly in the second and HSU scored a pair of runs on a pair of errors to take the lead at 4-3 in the fourth. Nolan Scherencel had an RBI double in the fourth to tie the game at 4.
 
HSU exploded for a season-best six-run inning in the fourth to open up a 10-4 lead. Trapani had an RBI single, Jimmy Mathis an RBI single, McGraw an RBI groundout, Cannon Negron added an RBI single and Justin Blancaflor had a two-run home run his third of the season.
 
McMurry chipped away with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Brock Calvillo had an RBI single in the seventh to make it 11-8 before the War Hawk dramatics in the ninth.
 
Trapani, Mathis and Kirkbride all had three hits to pace HSU. Paul led McMurry with five hits and drove in four runs.
 
The Cowboys are now 2-5 on the year and McMurry improved to 8-2. HSU returns to action on Friday at 4 p.m., when it hosts Texas Lutheran in the first of a four-game weekend set.
 
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