MARSHALL, Texas – A night after collecting 11 hits, the LeTourneau University baseball team would be limited to a total of just four hits while finding themselves in a pitcher's duel that would go to East Texas Baptist University by a final score of 2-1 on Friday, February 16th.
 
The loss drops the YellowJackets to under .500 for the first time this season at 2-3 overall while the Tigers improved to 6-2 overall.
 
None of the four hits for LeTourneau would come as an extra-base hit, with the top four batters in the lineup combining to go 0-for-13. Lee Hosie, Carson Dickey, Jacob Jones, and Will Bradshaw all collected one hit in the game, but saw nine strikeouts by ETBU keep LETU hitters in check.
 
Starter Andrew Harlan took the loss, tossing five and two-thirds innings while giving up both runs on 11 hits while recording two strikeouts. Only two of the 11 hits would go for extra-bases, but the junior would hit two batters while inducing only five groundouts. Ryder Lognion tossed the final 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three of the eight batters he faced.
 
In addition to runs being at a premium, finding base runners would prove to be just as difficult for LeTourneau early on as East Texas Baptist would allow just one hit in the first three innings of the game. LETU would work around a pair of two-out singles by the Tigers in the bottom of the first and strand another ETBU runner in the second before ending the bottom of the third on the base paths by throwing out Zach Gartner trying to advance two bases on a single to center field.
 
Following a scoreless fourth inning that saw LeTourneau strand Gonzalo Sosa and the Tigers strand runners on the corners, offense would start to pick up in the fifth. Dickey and Jones would lead off the top of the fifth with back-to-back singles to put two runners on with no outs, but a foul out to the ETBU first baseman, fly out to right field and ground would end what would be the best LETU threat up to that point. The Tigers wasted no time in their half of the fifth as Kentavious Miller took the first pitch he saw and put it off the top of the outfield wall and over for a solo home run to break the scoreless deadlock. LeTourneau would escape without any more runs coming across for East Texas Baptist, trailing 1-0 heading to the sixth.
 
Sosa would reach via error for the second consecutive at-bat, allowing for Bubba Valdez to lay down a sacrifice bunt to move the senior over to second. A Noah Mahoney groundout would put the game-tying run just 90 feet away from scoring, but the Tigers once again would escape by getting a pop out to shortstop.
 
ETBU would use a leadoff single and sacrifice bunt to put a runner on second with one out when sophomore Jeremy Bateman would deliver with an RBI double to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead and a runner on second. A flyout that moved Bateman to third would knock Harlan out of the game, making way for Lognion to get a pop out and end the East Texas Baptist sixth after seeing just one run come across.
 
Neither team would collect a hit in the seventh inning as LETU would go down in order before issuing a leadoff walk to the Tigers to put a runner on with no outs. The ETBU baserunner moved to second a balk by Lognion, but would be cut down at home after trying to score on a single to center field. LeTourneau would end the inning with a fly out to right, keeping the deficit at a manageable two runs.
 
LETU finally broke through in the top of the eighth, using a Bradshaw leadoff infield single and Eli Birriel walk to force a Tiger pitching change. Sosa would be called out on a close play at first after hitting a ball down the line that would go off the glove of the ETBU first baseman, but would advance both runners into scoring position. A Valdez sacrifice fly brought home Bradshaw to cut the East Texas Baptist lead to one with Birriel moving over to third, but ETBU would escape without any more damage.
 
East Texas Baptist would be unable to add any insurance runs in the bottom of the eight, but managed to retire LETU in order in the top of the ninth by striking out the final two batters as LeTourneau never managed to put the game-tying runner aboard in the inning.
 
Both the YellowJackets and Tigers will face off again on Monday evening, with a 6 p.m. first pitch taking place from Conrad-Vernon Field pending weather conditions. If weather does not permit for LETU and ETBU to play in Longview, the game will be moved to Marshall due to East Texas Baptist having an artificial turf playing surface.