BELTON, Texas – LeTourneau University's baseball team swept its American Southwest Conference-opening series from Mary Hardin-Baylor after winning, 5-2, Saturday.
LETU (4-1, 3-0 ASC) scored twice in each of the fourth and fifth innings, and added another in the eighth, and relied on its strong pitching for a third straight game to record its fourth consecutive victory.
LeTourneau starter
Kolbey Sharpe earned the win, going 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, two runs and a walk, while striking out four.
Cade Smitherman gave up two hits, no walks and no runs while recording a strikeout in one inning of relief.
Kolton Eberlan picked up the save, working the final 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He struck out four, and gave up two hits and no walks.
It was the second straight game Smitherman and Eberlan tossed scoreless relief. LETU's pitching staff allowed just three runs in the three-game series.
Noah Arellano belted a two-run homer in the fourth to spot the YellowJackets a 2-1 lead.
Bryce Brueggemeyer's two-run double to left in the fifth made it 4-1. Hunter McQuary's run-scoring single up the middle in the sixth helped UMHB (0-3, 0-3) cut the lead in half. But
Chaz Jackson scored on a passed ball in the eighth, and LETU's bullpen closed the door.
Arellano and Brueggemeyer both went 1-for-4, combining to drive in four runs.
Cody Stanley had two hits in four plate appearances.
Weston McKinley and
Jaggar Vaughn both went 1-for-3, and
Dylan Cortes was 1-for-4.
McQuary went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Caimyn Holiday went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI for the Cru, who outhit the Jackets, 9-7.
LeTourneau will play a nonconference doubleheader at the University of Dallas Wednesday before returning to ASC play next Friday and Saturday for a three-game set with Concordia Texas in the YellowJackets' home opener.
