AUSTIN, Texas- Lindsey Polleschultz and Taylor Henken each broke the UMHB single-season stolen base record over the course of the final series of the regular season, as The Cru took a 2-1 series win over Concordia (TX).
UMHB’s explosive hitting was evident throughout Games 1 and 3, as the Crusaders won by scores of 10-6, and 8-0, with the latter victory sealing their sixth consecutive series win. Head coach Melissa Mojica’s squad enters the ASC Tournament with a 24-13 overall record, and a 15-9 mark in league play. UMHB is the No. 3 seed at the tournament, and will face Concordia in the opening round on Thursday.
Henken was the first to break Lexi Harris’ single-season record of 22 stolen bases (which was set in 2022), swiping second base in the Top of the 1st inning of a 3-2 loss on Friday evening. After a nine-pitch at-bat Henken singled to shortstop, stole second, advanced to third on Bailey Frenzel’s base hit, and scored UMHB’s first run on Bryton Wright’s RBI sac fly.
Polleschultz tied the record, however, in the second inning, after she stole two bases in Game 1. After reaching on an error with one out, she took second base as Kylie Hoggatt stole home, and put UMHB back in front, with a 2-1 advantage. In the shutout win on Saturday, Polleschultz then broke the record with a pair of stolen bases in the first two innings. She enters the postseason with 25 stolen bases on the year and 50 in her three-year career, just two shy of surpassing Harris for the program’s No. 2 mark in career stolen bases.
The series opener was tied 1-1 through two innings before UMHB blew it wide open between the third and the sixth. The Cru pushed across at least two runs in each of the next four innings, as back-to-back RBI singles with the bases loaded from Bailey Eggleston and Polleschultz sparked the scoring in the third.
The fifth inning proved key for both teams at the plate, with UMHB taking an 8-1 lead as three runs came across on four hits. Concordia countered with a five-run inning, cutting the deficit to 8-6, but that was as close as the Tornadoes came to the lead. Back-to-back walks for Tori Skinner and Bailey Eggleston opened the sixth as both scored on a passed ball soon after, extending the Crusader advantage to four runs. Carmen Vela sealed the win in the circle with consecutive scoreless innings, as UMHB won for the fifth time in the last six games by at least four runs.
Concordia took Game 2, with UMHB once again breaking a 1-1 tie for the lead, this time in the second inning when Kylie Hoggatt stole home. But UMHB was held scoreless by Concordia starter Kylie Kirk for the next five innings, as Kirk allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and four walks in a complete-game effort.
The Cru had its best chance to break what was then a 2-2 tie in the sixth, as Frenzel walked and Wright singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Eggleston drew a walk, loading the bases. But Concordia caught a break when Kyler Sanders sent a 1-0 pitch to third baseman Kylie Pavlicek, which led to Pavlicek throwing out Frenzel at home. A strikeout from Kirk, her third of the day, allowed the Tornadoes to escape scoreless, and an RBI single from Christian Everett in the bottom of that same inning provided the go-ahead run for Concordia
But UMHB left little doubt in the series finale, finishing the regular season with a statement 8-0 win in five innings. Eileigh Whyte improved to 17-5 in the circle, tossing a one-hitter with no other baserunners allowed in the victory, setting The Cru up for success. Bryton Wright led UMHB at the plate, with a perfect 3-for-3 performance and an RBI. Skinner went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, giving UMHB the run-rule advantage as she doubled to left center in the fifth, driving in both Kaitlin Powers and Madeline Stephenson.
Series Notes
- Saturday’s 8-0 victory marked UMHB’s second five-inning run-rule win of the season, with the first having come last weekend in Game 2 of the series against Sul Ross State, in which The Cru came away with an 11-3 win.
- Whyte moves into the No. 5 spot in program history for wins in a season, with 17. She is just two wins away from surpassing Grason Long’s 18-win campaign in 2023.
- Per the UMHB record book, this is the first season in UMHB’s D-III history that two players have stolen 20 or more bases in the same season.
- UMHB is now 71-16 against Concordia going back to the 2000 season. The Cru has won nine straight series against the Tornadoes going back to the 2015 season.
- Polleschultz closes the regular season batting .419, which is the fourth-best batting average in the ASC this season.
Up Next
UMHB is set to play in next weekend’s ASC Tournament in Marshall, Texas, on the campus of ETBU, who won the regular season conference title, and is ranked No. 3 in the nation. The tournament field is made up of ETBU, UMHB, McMurry, Hardin-Simmons, LeTourneau, and Concordia. With McMurry’s series sweep of Howard Payne this weekend, and the Warhawks’ sweep of UMHB in March, McMurry took the No. 2 seed, making UMHB the No. 3 seed. The Cru has reached the conference tournament in 12 consecutive seasons.
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