BROWNWOOD, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' baseball team swept an American Southwest Conference doubleheader on Friday at Don Shepard Park, winning 3-2 and 12-8 to take the series.
In the seven-inning first game,
Caleb Reynolds went the distance for the Cowboys and improved to 6-2 on the year. He allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out five.
HSU used three walks in the first inning to load the bases and
Paul Samaripa drove home a pair of runs with a single to center field.
John Garza had an RBI double for Howard Payne in the second inning.
Benji Fielder brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Garza added an RBI single in the sixth.
Reynolds worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and ended the game by inducing a double play.
Samaripa had two of the six HSU hits.
Trevor Rangel allowed two runs in the first inning to start the game and take the loss. Trace Garcia allowed one unearned run in six and one-third innings out of the bullpen for HPU. Garza had three of the five Yellow Jacket hits.
In the second game,
Catcher Ridings put the Cowboys out front with a two-run single in the first inning. HPU scored a run in the first and the Cowboys answered with five runs in the second.
Justin Blancaflor led off with a home run,
Hunter Trojacek had a sacrifice fly,
Jacob Hollingsworth and Ridings added RBI singles.
HPU came back to tie the game in the second with five runs. Huston Cornish had a two-run double.
HSU regained the lead in the fifth inning with three runs. Blancaflor had a sacrifice fly,
Luke Najera had an RBI triple and Fielder had an RBI single. HPU added a single run in the fifth on a Ryan Pullen sacrifice fly.
Jeron Flores started for the Cowboys and allowed six runs (four earned) in one and two-thirds innings.
Jace Martinez came in and got out of a jam in the second. He then worked two and two-thirds more innings allowing just one run.
Ethan Cloudt came on and got out of the fifth. He worked two more scoreless innings.
Garrett Keller came on in the eighth and allowed a sacrifice fly by Garza. He then worked a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season. The Cowboys added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run double by
Luke Najera and a Fielder RBI single.
Najera, Fielder and Ridings had two hits each for the Cowboys.
HSU is now 20-13 overall and 3-4 in ASC play. HPU fell to 13-20 overall and 0-7 in league play. The teams will close the series with a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
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