The LeTourneau University baseball team lost to Howard Payne, 5-4 on Thursday night to begin a crucial ASC series at Conrad-Vernon Field in Longview.
 
LeTourneau (9-8, 7-5 ASC) had 10 hits but stranded 12 runners in the loss. Juniors Sean Sellers (pictured), Taylor Empkey and Dillon Yates each had two hits in the loss. Senior Justin Jenkins went the distance for the complete game, allowing seven hits and striking out seven in the loss to fall to 3-2.
 
Howard Payne (11-14, 6-12 ASC) used four-different pitchers in the game and had seven hits in the win. Brandon Garrett and Dustin DeJohn each had two hits to lead HPU.
 
LETU took an early in the bottom of the first as they scored twice. The first run came on the very first pitch of the inning when Sellers belted a Shae Edmonds offering over the fence in left-center field. Then, with the bases loaded, senior Jon Lewis reached on a walk to score Empkey for the early lead. HPU came back to tie it in the second inning, scoring twice on a Garrett single.
 
Howard Payne took its first lead of the game in the fifth inning when they scored twice for a 4-2 lead. LeTourneau cut the deficit to 4-3 with a RBI single by sophomore Kyle Jacobs in its half of the inning. Then, in the seventh, LeTourneau tied it when pinch hitter Brandon Applewhite picked up a walk with the bases loaded. A strikeout with the bases loaded kept LETU from taking the lead.
 
With the game tied at 4, in the top of the 8^th, Howard Payne scored as they capitalized on an error by LeTourneau for a 5-4 lead. Then, LeTourneau mounted a threat in its half of the eighth. Sellers, with one out, singled. A walk to Empkey put runners on first and second for LETU which prompted a HPU pitching change. A wild pitch moved Sellers and Empkey to second and third, respectively. The new pitcher – Kyle Ramon – got a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
 
The two teams will wrap up the series with a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m.