Wright makes pitching debut, Cru scores 7 in 4th, as UMHB Softball rolls past Southwestern

BELTON — With the regular season less than a week old, one thing has already become clear about this UMHB softball team: The Cru responds incredibly well to a deficit.

Down 3-1 on Wednesday night after Southwestern pushed three runs across in the top half of the fourth, UMHB’s Bailey Frenzel stepped into the batter’s box a half-inning later. She drew a walk, followed by a base hit from Madeline Stephenson, and a well-placed bunt from Taylor Henken. It was the beginning of a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning for The Cru, who not only wiped away the visiting Pirates’ two-run lead, but took a commanding 8-3 advantage by the time it was said and done.

For the second time in three games, UMHB fell behind by multiple runs, only to completely reverse the momentum the next time they stepped to the plate. The Crusaders tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fifth, and shut out Southwestern over the next three innings, sealing a 10-3 win that elevates their record in this young season to 3-0.

UMHB is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2020, when the Crusaders rattled off five straight victories to open a season that would ultimately be cut short due to Covid.

After Frenzel, Stephenson, and Henken loaded the bases to begin the fourth, Kyler Sanders drew a walk, scoring UMHB’s first run of the inning. Gabriela Vela then delivered the first big momentum play of the frame, fouling off back-to-back two-strike pitches before driving a hard-hit liner above the glove of Southwestern shortstop Darby Burke into left field. It scored both Stephenson and Henken, giving The Cru back the lead, and turned out to be the final batter Pirate starter Madison Vela faced in the contest.

Even after the pitching change, however, which saw sophomore Jaden Wheeler step into the circle, UMHB kept finding ways to move runners over. Even when Southwestern recorded its first out of the inning on a long fly ball from Bryton Wright to deep center field, The Cru scored two on the play, with Shorey Nguyen tagging from third and Pollechultz tagging from second. The aggressive baserunning paid off, as the relay from center field to home plate was late and Polleschultz scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-3 lead.

The icing on the cake came in the ensuing at-bat, when Tori Skinner advanced two bases and scored in the span of four pitches without the ball being put in play. A passed ball on the second pitch of Bailey Frenzel’s at-bat advanced Wright to third, and on the 3-2, 2-out pitch to Frenzel, the ball got away from Wheeler, drifting high. Frenzel swung at the wild pitch, striking out. But due to the ball not being received by the catcher, it created a live ball opportunity for Skinner to score and Frenzel to reach first, extending the inning…and UMHB’s lead.

The other lead story of the night was Wright’s performance in the circle. The junior had 2 RBIs at the plate, but more importantly, tossed 4.0 scoreless innings in her collegiate pitching debut. A native of Melissa, Texas, Wright pitched throughout high school, but had primarily played infield through her first 70 games in a Crusader uniform.

In the fourth inning, as Southwestern began finding a rhythm against UMHB starter Chloee Miller, Wright was called in by head coach Melissa Mojica from first base. With a runner standing on second and nobody out, Wright handled the pressure situation well, striking out Calle Collier, the first batter she faced. She then got a flyout and a groundout to follow; the best case scenario, even with Emery Bell tagging and scoring from third on the flyout.

Wright surrendered just two hits and walked three in her four innings of work, in addition to four strikeouts.

At the plate, Vela, Stephenson, and Polleschultz each had two hits apiece. Vela finished tied with Wright for the team-high in RBIs (2), and Polleschultz joined Nguyen as the only Crusaders to score twice against the Pirates.

Impressively, UMHB put up 10 runs without a single extra base hit. It marks the first time since an April 29, 2022 shutout at Howard Payne in which The Cru scored at least 10 runs without a double, triple, or home run in the contest.

What’s Next?

UMHB turns around and makes the short trip south along IH-35 to Georgetown to complete the home-and-home with Southwestern next Tuesday night. The 6:00 p.m. matchup from Georgetown gives The Cru a chance to extend its win streak against the Pirates to five.