Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru
ABILENE–A strong day at the plate, led by three hits apiece from Lindsey Polleschultz and Bailey Frenzel, paved the way to a key series win for UMHB softball on Saturday afternoon.
On the road against a Hardin-Simmons team who entered with a 20-4 record, UMHB scored nine runs over the final four innings, and took a 9-3 victory in the series finale. It followed up The Cru’s 3-2 win on Friday evening, as they took the road series, two games to one. UMHB is now sitting above .500 overall, at 13-12, and is 7-8 in the ASC.
Much like in the previous two games of the series, HSU scored first, going up 1-0 on a second-inning RBI base hit off the bat of Kristen McMillan. But as it turned out, that was the only time in the series finale in which the hosts held the lead.
Bryton Wright, whose three-run home run in Friday’s Game 2 helped make a series win possible for The Cru, followed up with another homer on Saturday in the fourth inning, and knotted the score at 1-1. Then it was Wright again, this time in the fifth, doubling to right center field as Polleschultz came around to score and UMHB took the lead.
The 2-1 advantage soon became 5-1 by the time HSU recorded its final out in the fifth, as RBI singles from Bralyn Belk and Kyler Sanders extended the advantage. Polleschultz came through with the biggest of her three hits in the seventh, when she singled through the left side of the infield with one out and the bases loaded. Back-to-back scoring plays followed her RBI base hit, as Gabriela Vela drove in Belk, and Frenzel scored Tori Skinner and Polleschultz for a 9-1 lead. HSU pushed two across in the bottom of the inning, but never challenged UMHB for the lead considering the sizable deficit.
Eileigh Whyte won her second game of the weekend in the circle, throwing 7.0 innings with six hits and three runs allowed. The native of Round Rock, Texas is now 9-6 this season.
Game Notes
- The series win marks UMHB’s second-straight against HSU, but the first on the road over the Cowgirls since 2018.
- With Wright’s homer in the fourth inning, UMHB has now hit home runs in consecutive games for the first time in 2024.
- The Cru’s 14 hits in the victory are tied for the second-most in a single game this season.
- UMHB recorded 9 RBIs for the third time this season, and that is the most RBIs the Crusaders have tallied in a single game thus far.
- With strong plate discipline, The Cru drew six walks against HSU, the most for UMHB’s lineup in a game this season.
Up Next
UMHB hosts UT-Dallas on April 12-13 in a three-game ASC series in Belton. UTD is 15-11 overall and 6-6 in ASC play.
