April 8, 2008

Final Stats

SHERMAN, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' baseball team broke open an 8-8 game with 12 runs in the top of the seventh inning of the first game for a 20-9 win and went on to sweep Austin College with a 13-2 win in game two of a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Austin College.

Cowboy sophomore catcher Regan Dixon set a non-scholarship era school record with nine RBIs in the first game. He had a two-run triple in the third inning and a three-run home run and a grand slam in the seventh inning. Angel Herrera and Clay Johnston held the old record with seven RBIs in a game.

The first game it was the battle of the big inning. Austin College took an early 4-0 lead off Cowboy starter Sam Walker after two innings of work. The Cowboys came right back and exploded for six runs in the third inning. In the inning Wayne Pimpton had an RBI single, Dixon's two-run triple, an RBI single by Taylor Berlin and a Brian Weeks RBI single.

HSU added two more runs in the fourth inning on a Weeks RBI single and a Gage RBI double. Austin College tied the game at 8-8 in the fourth inning on a pair of two-run home runs off J.T. Armstrong in his collegiate debut on the mound.

Kyle Barton (4-1) came on in the fifth and worked an inning and two-thirds of scoreless relief to earn the win and keep the game at 8-8.

HSU put up 12 runs in the seventh inning. Dixon had a three-run home run after Gage and Pimpton singled to lead off the inning. Post had a pair of RBI singles, Weeks had an RBI single and Dixon followed with a grand slam. Tre' Sellari had an RBI double in the inning.

Gage was 4-for-4 playing in front of family and friends. His dad Ronnie is the football coach at Austin College and his family now lives in Sherman. Weeks was 3-for-6 with three RBIs, Dixon 3-for-4 with nine RBIs, and Post had three hits and two RBIs in game one.

In the second game, HSU scored a single run in the second inning on a double by Dixon and a Sellari triple. HSU added five runs in the fourth inning on a Taylor Berlin RBI single, a three-run J.T. Armstrong double and an R.C. Waters single. Berlin added an RBI single in the fifth inning with two outs.

HSU scored again in the sixth inning on a Ryan Stepp RBI triple. He also came in to score on a wild pitch after the triple. Stepp had a two-run single in the seventh inning and Post and Gage had RBI singles in the seventh.

Berlin had three hits for the Cowboys in the second game. Lance Johnson (2-1) had his best outing in a while with five innings of three-hit ball to earn the win. He allowed only one earned run in the game.

The Cowboys (19-14) have won five straight games and will return home for senior weekend, hosting Sul Ross State on Friday at 7 p.m. Austin College fell to 15-21.

--- HSU ---