MARSHALL, Texas -- An 11-run first inning and a seven-run sixth inning propelled the No. 2 seeded LeTourneau baseball team to a 19-9 victory over No. 3 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round of the ASC Tournament on Thursday in Marshall.

LeTourneau (22-18) advances in the winners' bracket to face either No. 1 seed East Texas Baptist or No. 4 seed Hardin-Simmons on Friday at 3 p.m.

Dane Jones went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs as LeTourneau hit four home runs in the victory. The two home runs gives Jones 20 for a second straight year -- tying his own program record. His three hits put him at 240 for his career, tying him for the top spot in the program's all-time list.

It was the most runs scored by the YellowJackets in an ASC Tournament game and the 13th double-digit run game this season.

Austin Wiederhold and Xander Nabors also homered. Nabors hit a two-run homer as part of the 11-run first inning and Wiederhold capped the seven-run sixth with a grand slam -- his first career homer.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (24-17) took a 2-0 lead with a Shane Melick two-run homer in the first inning, but LeTourneau answered back in a big way.

The YellowJackets sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs on eight hits to break open an 11-2 lead. Jones blasted his first homer of the game to left field, a two-run shot, to even the score. Two batters later, Jack Kale ripped a single to right field to plate two more runs and give the YellowJackets a 4-2 lead.

Zach Baker added a two-run single later in the inning and Jones delivered again with a two-run single that made it 9-2. Nabors got into the homer act with a two-run blast to left field to give the YellowJackets an 11-2 lead.

The homer was Nabors' sixth of the year.

LeTourneau starter Aman Patel (3-4) took advantage of the big lead and went six innings with six strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year. The senior tossed four straight scoreless innings from the third through the sixth.

The YellowJackets tacked on seven more in the sixth inning. Isaac Price had an RBI single and Wiederhold launched a grand slam to make it 16-4. Jones followed Wiederhold's blast with another solo shot.

In the seventh, Wiederhold ended the game with an RBI single to give LeTourneau the run-rule victory.

Every YellowJacket batter scored at least one run as LeTourneau scored a season-high 19 runs and totaled a season-best 19 hits. Kale led the way with four hits while Jones, Brice Cagle, and Baker had three each.

UMHB starter Kolby McBee (6-2) got the loss as he allowed seven earned runs in just 0.1 innings.

UP NEXT

LeTourneau plays in the winners' bracket at 3 p.m. on Friday.

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