GEORGETOWN, Texas — Since 2017, UMHB and Southwestern have met at least twice in every season except 2023. And on five occasions within that span, The Cru has won the season series.
That fifth instance came on Wednesday night, in the second game of a home-and-home scheduling arrangement this season. After taking down Southwestern, 10-3, in Belton on Feb. 12, UMHB found itself trailing by two runs entering the top of the sixth.
Then the bats came alive. The Cru put six runs on the board over the final two innings, erasing the deficit and winning, 6-2, in their third road victory of 2025. It raises UMHB’s record to 4-2 overall, with five of those six contests having come away from Belton.
After mustering just three hits through the first five innings against Southwestern pitcher Sophia Ytuarte, UMHB found its sixth-inning spark from Bryton Wright, who singled with one out. Two walks and a fielder’s choice followed, bringing Gabriel Vela to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Vela, who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs in the first game of the year against the Pirates, swung a hot bat yet again, driving a pitch to left field that scored both Ava Jolley from second and Shorey Nguyen from third, tying the score as she reached second with a standup double. It marked Vela’s first extra-base hit of the season and only the second of her two-year UMHB career.
The two-out rally continued from The Cru, as Southwestern shortstop Riley Glenn-Millhouse overthrew first baseman Meghan McCarthy as she tried to nab Kyler Sanders on an inning-ending groundout. Instead of the third out, UMHB scored two more runs on the error, shifting the momentum entirely as the visitors from Belton claimed a 4-2 lead.
Solid execution at the plate and aggressive baserunning in the seventh set the stage for Bryton Wright’s two-run double, which broke the game wide open in the final frame. Kylie Hoggatt, pinch-hitting for Taylor Henken in just her second at-bat of the season, opened the inning with a base hit, and Henken was called on to pinch run. With Tori Skinner at the plate, Henken took off for second at the first sight of the ball leaving Ytuarte’s hand and didn’t stop once Skinner laid a bunt down to the left side of the infield.
The bunt drew Southwestern third baseman Julyssa Hernandez away from the bag, leaving it wide open as Henken rounded second and sprinted to third. The UMHB centerfielder slid headfirst into third, with the aggressive bunt-and-run having paid off, putting runners on the corners. After Skinner stole second, Wright, the first UMHB batter to face Southwestern reliever Cora Sepulvado, laced a double down the left field line. Her second hit of the night scored both Henken and Skinner easily for the eventual four-run victory.
In the circle, Eileigh Whyte tossed her second complete game of the season, allowing six hits and striking out four. She allowed two earned runs, but lowered her season ERA to 2.33, improving her record to 2-1.
Game Notes
- UMHB has now won its last five games against Southwestern and four of the last five played in Georgetown.
- Wright and Nguyen each had two hits apiece in the win, with Nguyen recording her first multi-hit game of 2025. Nguyen has hit safely in all six games this season, and raised her batting average to .412.
- In her two-year career at UMHB, Whyte has now recorded 10 seven-inning performances in the circle.
Up Next
UMHB hosts Dallas Christian College in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday in Belton, in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. DCC is 4-4 overall this season.
