ABILENE, Texas -- Hardin-Simmons'
baseball team split an American Southwest Conference doubleheader on
Saturday afternoon at Katt-Isbel Field in Seguin, winning
3-0 in the first game and losing 2-1 in 12 innings in the nightcap.
Three
Cowboy pitchers worked on a two-hit shutout in the first game of the
doubleheader. Blake Sieck (2-3) worked five and two-third innings and
allowed only two hits.
Sieck did not allow a hit until an infield single by Matt Peterson in
the fifth inning. Evan Curtis followed with a solid single to left but
that is all TLU would get.
James
Simmons got the final out of the sixth inning with a runner at third.
Tyler Brunnemann worked a scoreless seventh inning for his fifth save of
the year.
Jeff
Spillane was very good for TLU as well. He scattered five hits over six
and one-third innings and allowed three runs (one earned) to take the
loss and fall to
4-5.
HSU
scored a run in the second on a Joey Dearing RBI single and HSU added
two insurance runs in the seventh. Dearing and Jay Hiller each had RBI
singles for HSU in
the inning.
Dearing and Bryan Blare each had two hits for HSU and Evan Curtis had two hits for Texas Lutheran.
In
the second game, Blare and Chris Matthews led off the fifth inning with
back-to-back singles. They moved up a base on sacrifice bunt and Blare
scored on a Dearing
RBI groundout.
Texas
Lutheran scored its first run in the fifth when Ryan Hill singled and
moved to second on sacrifice bunt and to third on a wild pitch. Brian
Wheaton walked and
that ended the day for Stewart Person the HSU starter. James Simmons
came on and got a fielder's choice by Daniel Yancelson which drove home
Hill to tie the game.
James
Simmons was great in relief of Person for the Cowboys as he worked
seven hitless innings. He walked Anthony Genussa to lead off the 12th
inning. He then got a sacrifice bunt and then gave way to Brunnemann.
Brunnemann struck out Ryan Hill but Jennings Boothe lined a shot to
right field to score Genussa from second.
Simmons
got the hard-luck loss to fall to 4-2. The TLU bullpen was stellar as
well as they allowed just three hits in five and one-third innings.
Kellen McGriff started
and went six and two-thirds, Aaron Aleman relieved him and allowed two
hits and no runs in three and two-third innings and Sean Kistler worked
the final inning and two-thirds for the win.
Jon Finney had three hits for HSU and Hiller had two. Five different players had singles for TLU.
HSU
is now 16-17 on the year and 9-9 in ASC play. Texas Lutheran improved
to 23-11 and 14-4 in league play. HSU plays at Tarleton State on
Tuesday.