Photo of Alex Hill courtesy of UMHB Athletics
GEORGETOWN — Pitching on the road for the first time in 2026, UMHB ace Alex Hill looked just as comfortable at Rockwell Family Field on Friday night as he did in his opening two starts of the season at UMHB’s Red Murff Field.
His strikeout total certainly backed that observation up, as the sophomore right-hander struck out the first four batters he faced and frustrated the Southwestern lineup for seven scoreless innings in Game 1 of the weekend series, fanning 12 Pirate batters in a 4-1 UMHB victory.
Hill, who came into the night leading Division III in strikeouts after back-to-back 10-strikeout performances against No. 12 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 15 Webster, dominated on the mound with remarkable control. He became the first Crusader pitcher to strike out 12 since Andrew Acierni did so against Austin College on Feb. 16, 2024, a mark that is tied for fifth all-time in a single-game in the program’s D-III history.
In addition to striking out 48 percent of the batters he faced (12/25), Hill issued just two walks for an exceptional 6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Dallas native surrendered only four hits, carrying a no-hitter through four innings, and Southwestern put a grand total of three runners in scoring position in the span of Hill’s seven innings on the mound.
After striking out Southwestern’s Connor Daley with runners on first and second in the seventh, Hill handed off to the Crusader bullpen for the eighth and ninth. Mason Semmelmann delivered a scoreless eighth, allowing just one baserunner, and Gavin Oliver closed it out in the ninth. Southwestern erased the shutout bid on Owen Stevenson’s solo homer in the ninth, but Oliver retired the next three batters to seal the win.
UMHB is now 5-3 overall, having won four straight, starting with the series win over No. 15 Webster last weekend. Friday night also marked the season opener for Southwestern, who is heading into its first season in the SAA.
The pitcher’s duel had its fair share of stellar moments from both defenses to keep the game tight. In the third, UMHB shortstop Easton Cline snagged a hard line drive off the bat of Cale Cochran to preserve the no-hitter. In the fifth, Southwestern right fielder Chase Adams tracked down a flyball for the inning’s second out before throwing Cline out at the plate as tried to tag from third.
In the bottom half of that same inning, UMHB third baseman Riley Bender orchestrated an inning-ending double play with a runner on third. Then in the sixth, Pirate third baseman Alex Ervesun caught Bender between third base and home on a groundball to the right side of the infield, leading to a fielder’s choice that eliminated the scoring threat.
But UMHB’s lineup continually put itself in scoring position, whether by its nine hits, drawing three walks, or taking advantage of Soutwestern’s four errors. In fact, it was an error that set up The Cru’s go-ahead run in the second inning, starting with Braden Fuentes’ short chopper to third base.
Ervesun charged to the ball and fired quickly to first base, looking to prevent Fuentes from beating out the throw. Instead, Fuentes ended up on third base, with the errant throw sailing past the glove of Stevenson at first base. One batter later, Jasson Hemmerling, Jr. drove a pitch into deep center field, allowing Fuentes to tag and score from third.
Hemmerling, who had three RBIs in Tuesday’s 9-3 win over Schreiner, tallied his seventh RBI of the season with the sac fly. Fuentes, a freshman from Kingwood, Texas, scored a run for the third-straight game, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
UMHB added three insurance runs to its total in the eighth, with two Southwestern errors contributing to The Cru’s breakout inning at the plate. Chris Perez reached base on a throwing error and came around to score on the first of two wild pitches from Southwestern reliever Nolan Yeager in the same at-bat to Nolan Williams. The second brought Bender across the plate, and Williams reached base on a hit-by-pitch. J.C. Hughes then drove Williams in for a 4-0 lead on a base hit to left field.
Postgame Perspective from UMHB Head Coach Mike Stawski
“That was a gutsy win by our group today! The runs on the board do not dictate how we swung the bat; the ball was just not going anywhere tonight. But we executed big plays and big at-bats when we needed them the most.
“Alex was special tonight. Composed and prepared. He put us on his back and was willing to carry the load tonight. That 1-run lead felt like a lot more with him on the mound. He’s always had #1 stuff. Now he has #1 mentality as well. That makes him scary for any opponent.
“And once again, the unsung hero, the thing no one talks about, that people typically don’t care about was brilliant again, and that was our defense!”
Crusader Notes
- UMHB took down Southwestern for the third-straight time after going 2-0 against the Pirates in 2025. The Cru has won three of the last four meetings in Georgetown.
- The four-game win streak is UMHB’s longest since the March of last season, when The Cru beat Trinity, Concordia, St. Thomas, and LeTourneau in order. This streak is the longest with multiple wins over the same opponent (Webster, 2) since the four consecutive wins between March 5-9, 2024. UMHB took down Trinity and swept Schreiner in that five-day stretch.
- Through three starts and 19.0 IP, Hill has an ERA of 1.42 and 32 strikeouts. His WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched) sits at an astounding 0.84.
- After tallying six hits in each of its first two games, UMHB’s lineup has tallied at least nine hits in each of its last six.
- The Crusaders did not tally an extra-base hit in the win, marking their first victory without a double, triple, or homer since April 15, 2023, when UMHB shutout UT-Dallas, 2-0.
Up Next
The weekend series continues on Saturday in Belton, with the first pitch of Game 2 set for 2 p.m. at Red Murff Field. The series finale returns to Georgetown on Sunday for a noon matinee. Under Stawski’s leadership, UMHB is 5-1 when facing Southwestern at home.
