Covering UMHB Athletics and the stories behind the score
BROWNWOOD, Texas- Three weeks ago, UMHB softball head coach Melissa Mojica said that if her team could stay focused, there was great potential to win the final nine games on the ASC schedule.
The Crusaders did just that. A win streak started by a sweep of Concordia in Austin gave way to victory after victory over the final three weekends of the season. In fact, UMHB, ranked No. 10 in the nation, has not fallen since April 2. And that was on the road against national power ETBU.
BELTON- Rachel Williams stood in the circle, facing the Sul Ross State batter. With two outs and an 0-2 count to Taryn Griner, Williams needed just one more strike to close out the game, the series, and likely, her career at UMHB’s Dee Dillon Field.
BELTON- Rachel Williams never planned on playing softball again. Not after she left the Tarleton State program in the fall of 2019. At that point, the Lorena, Texas native had aspirations of a career in occupational therapy. Now, she is pursuing a master’s degree in sports administration, aiming at going the coaching route. And she is back on a collegiate softball team. Something drew her back to the sport. And UMHB is awfully glad for that.
BELTON- The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team completed a three-game sweep over LeTourneau University this weekend. The wins improved the Cru to 25-9 on the season and 18-6 in American Southwest Conference action while the YellowJackets fell to 11-21 overall and 8-16 in league play.
BELTON- One look at the ASC softball standings and something becomes clear: there is a tremendous amount of parity within the conference. Four teams; Belhaven, ETBU, Hardin-Simmons, and UMHB, sit within two games of each other, and UT-Dallas and Sul Ross State, each riding multi-game win streaks, are not far behind.
BELTON- Melissa Mojica is incredibly confident in her pitching staff entering the 2022 season, which will begin Saturday afternoon in Houston. And the second-year head coach has good reason to be.