March 10, 2007

Final Stats

ABILENE, Texas - ABILENE, Texas - Preseason American Southwest Conference West Division favorites Hardin-Simmons and Texas Lutheran split a baseball doubleheader in the conference opener, Saturday at Hunter Field with TLU winning the first game 12-6 and HSU bouncing back for an 18-10 win in the nightcap.

In the first inning, the Cowboys scored three runs on a two-run double by Michael Simpson and a RBI double by Danny Ruth. HSU added a run in the fourth when Ryan Stepp doubled and came around to score on a throwing error by the pitcher.

Stepp had a sacrifice fly and Tre'Sellari had a bases loaded walk to give the Cowboys two runs in the fifth. TLU scored five runs on six hits in the fifth to take the lead 8-4. The Bulldogs also scored four runs in the seventh on three hits and two Cowboy errors.

Nathan Copeland took the loss for HSU and Daniel Besa improved to 4-0 with the win for TLU, despite allowing six earned runs in four and two-thirds inning.

Simpson had two hits and a pair of RBIs for the Cowboys and Jacob Kaase had three hits and Scott Matocha, Ryan Nokelby, Joseph Brade, Jason Foley, and Sean O'Bannion each had two hits for TLU.

In the nightcap, every HSU starter had a hit and Simpson had four RBIs, Blake Koch had three RBIs and Ruth, James Gage and Trevor Bunte each had two RBIs.

TLU scored three runs in the top of the first on a RBI single by Kaase and a two-run home run by Joseph Brade. HSU responded with six runs in the bottom of the first. TLU starter Kyle Newman walked the first four batters of the game and did not record an out. Simpson had an RBI on the bases loaded walk and Stepp and Ruth had RBIs on groundouts and Gage had an RBI double and Koch had an RBI double and Bunte an RBI single in the inning.

HSU never trailed the rest of the game and led 13-3, before TLU scored five runs in the sixth to make it 13-8 and another run in the seventh made it 13-9.

Freshman Tim Kreigel had a solid start for the Cowboys, posting five straight shutout innings after the rocky first. He came out in the sixth with the bases loaded. He is 2-0 on the year.

Ruth had a home run for the Cowboys in the third inning and Koch had a two-run single in the eighth to make it 18-10. The game ended when the Cowboys turned a triple play in the ninth inning.

HSU is now 8-7 on the year and 1-1 in league play. TLU is 13-4-1 and 1-1 in ASC play. The teams will play a single game on Sunday at 2 p.m.