ABILENE, Texas – Picking up an 8-4 victory in game one of a Saturday twin bill, the LeTourneau University baseball team would be forced to fend off a late McMurry University to win game two by a score of 8-6 and sweep a three-game American Southwest Conference series at Walt Driggers Field in Abilene, Texas on Saturday, March 9th. 

Improving to 5-1 in ASC play, LETU now holds a 10-6 overall record while MCM falls to 6-11 overall and 0-3 in ASC play. 

Game One:
Continuing his early season hitting hot streak, junior Bryce Brueggemeyer would get the YellowJackets on the board in the top of the first with a two-run home run after Lee Hosie would reach base on a hit-by-pitch. The War Hawks would find their way onto the board to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second after putting together a two-out rally capped by a three-run homer to left field as the LETU would face their first deficit of the weekend.
 
It wouldn't take long for the YellowJackets to re-take the lead with Brueggemeyer drawing a leadoff walk followed by a Jacob Jones single and balk to move runners into scoring position. Weston McKinley would tie things up with a sacrifice fly before a fielding error would extend the inning for LeTourneau and bring home Jones to make the score 4-3 in favor of LETU.
 
LeTourneau would add to their lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI double from Hosie to drive in Eli Birriel before a Brueggemeyer RBI single brought Hosie the rest of the way to put the YellowJackets up 6-3. McMurry would get a run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout after getting a leadoff single to start the inning but would strand two base runners as the War Hawks could not string together any of their three hits in the inning.
 
Holding a 6-4 lead heading to the seventh and final inning of the game, LETU would take advantage of a one-out McMurry error along with a two out single and walk to set the stage for Ramirez who would deliver with a two-RBI single to give the YellowJackets some breathing room. The War Hawks would be unable to put together any type of late rally as LETU would secure their second-straight conference series win to begin ASC play.
 
Picking up his second victory in as many starts, senior Andrew Harlan would throw the first five innings of action and strike out two while scattering seven hits before making way for Kolton Eberlan to pick up his third save of the year. Eberlan tossed the final two innings and struck out one while allowing one hit as all three saves have come in the past three games.
 
Offensive production would come from the top of the lineup for LeTourneau with Brueggemeyer and Ramirez combining for five of LETU's 10 hits to go along with five RBI.
 
Game Two:
The War Hawks threatened first as they put two runners aboard in the bottom half of the first frame but would fail to get a run across. The LETU offense broke through in the top of the second to do some damage on McMurry with the first three batters reaching to load the bases and allowing for Matt Lowery to put the YellowJackets on the board with a single to center field to score Jacob Jones. LETU would continue the rally with a hit batter to bring in a second run before a Kyle Guevara triple down the right field line extended the lead to 5-0. Capping off the rally would be Hosie with a sacrifice fly to stake the YellowJackets to a 6-0 lead.

Jones and Lowery would team up once again in the third to add another run to the LeTourneau total as Lowery scored Jones from third base off an RBI single to right field. The War Hawks would manage to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth as they added two runs off of three hits to cut the LETU lead to 7-2. 

The five-run LETU lead would remain until the bottom of the eighth when the War Hawks rallied to score four runs on four hits and pull within a single-run of the YellowJackets but would strand a potential game-tying runner at second. 

LeTourneau would get one run back for insurance purposes in the top of the ninth on a Chaz Jackson RBI single to score pinch runner Mark Sanders as the YellowJackets would work around a pair of MCM hits in to win the game and earn their first series sweep of the year. 

Lowery and Noah Mahoney would lead a nine-hit LETU output by collecting two hits each while Guevara would drive in a game-high three runs. Raul Martinez collected his first win of the year after throwing six complete innings and allowing two runs on six hits while Luke Ludwig (1.2 innings) and Ryder Lognion (1.1 innings) helped close out the game for the YellowJackets. 

 
What's Next?
LeTourneau will play their next eight games as non-conference contests with five of the eight contests coming at Conrad-Vernon Field. The slate of games will begin on Saturday, March 16th with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Wartburg University out of Waverly, Iowa. The Knights hold a 2-5 overall record with one more contest to play in Winter Haven, Florida as part of their season-opening spring break trip before coming to Longview.