2023 ASC Championship Central
BELTON, Texas – Four games were completed to open the first day of the 2023 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament at Dee Dillon Field. All games featured drama in the seventh inning, with No. 4 seed McMurry scoring six runs to overtake top-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor and go 2-0 on the day.
No. 3 seed LeTourneau edged No. 6 seed UT Dallas in the opening game but would fall to No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist. McMurry prevailed over No. 5 seed Hardin-Simmons to start its special day.
The bracket is set for Friday (May 12). LeTourneau will be home versus Hardin-Simmons at 10 a.m., Mary Hardin-Baylor will be home versus UT Dallas at 12:30 p.m., and East Texas Baptist will be home versus McMurry at 3 p.m. Game four on the day will feature the winner of the first two games. Three of the four games are elimination games with the exception to game three on the day and seven overall between ETBU and McMurry.
GAME 1: LeTourneau 3, UT Dallas 2
LeTourneau (27-14) jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the first inning with Kenna Hendry doubling to center field and scoring Kylie Grisham.
From there it was a pitcher’s duel between LeTourneau’s Hailee Leger and UT Dallas’ Emilie Hoelscher. The sides traded zeros until Murphy Williams lifted a home run to the same direction the wind was blowing out to at right field. Her two-run shot scored Grisham and put the YellowJackets up 3-0.
The Comets (24-17) rallied back in their last at bat, as they sent eight batters to the plate. A sacrifice fly for the first out plated Alexia Mullen. Jordan Evans added a one-out single to drive in Erin Ledesma. LeTourneau turned to Williams in the circle and she got a flyout for the second out. Two walks loaded the bases, but the YellowJackets got a groundout to second that the flip to shortstop covering the bag was in time to lift them in the thriller.
Kylie Grisham was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. UTD was led by Megan Cavazos with a 2-for-4 and Sarah Lewis with a 2-for3. Leger went 6.1 innings for the win and allowed two runs on seven hits. She walked one and struck out three. Williams got the final two outs for the save and was the deciding hit on the two-run blast.
GAME 2: McMurry 4, Hardin-Simmons 2
McMurry (25-13) scored a pair of runs in the second and fourth innings to lead the entire game over the Cowgirls. It was another low-scoring offensive output as the teams combined for 11 hits. The War Hawks benefited from two walks with a hit by pitch between them to load the bases in the second inning. Kate Casey beat out a fielder’s choice and Miranda Soil hustled home to make it 1-0. The second run came in on a single by Angelica Abi.
In the fourth inning, the War Hawks doubled the lead with a pair of runs that came in on Abi flying out to center field for a sacrifice fly. Kate Casey moved to third on the play and came home on the next batter thanks to a passed ball.
Hardin-Simmons (26-13) showed life in the fifth inning with two runs on two hits. Ella Salinas had an RBI single that scored Jazlynn Cant. Sarah Diessner flied to right for a sacrifice fly. She finished 2-for-3 and was the only player on either side with multiple hits.
McMurry pitcher Jenna Lewis wavered at times in the circle but muscled through a complete game. A one-out double followed by a hit by pitch and single to center field got her in a jam in the seventh. She got a strikeout looking for the second out and a fly out to center secured the win. Lewis finished with six hits and two runs allowed. She struck out six and walked two.
GAME 3: East Texas Baptist 6, LeTourneau 3
Ashley Croft got the start in the circle for East Texas Baptist (36-5), as she helped her cause with a home run to left in the bottom of the first.
LeTourneau (27-15) challenged with two runs in the third inning by going up 2-1. Hendry was the igniter again with two RBI to give her three in the tournament. Her single plated Lauren Wilking and Grisham.
ETBU changed the game with a four-run third that was the difference. Delanie Loya singled in a run to knot the game at two. Corley Carpenter doubled to right field and cleared the bases for three runs.
Hendry capped her 2-for-3 with her third RBI in the fifth, while Tauryn Cummings had an RBI on a sacrifice flyout to answer the run back. LeTourneau had two runners on, but a bouncer to shortstop that was deflected off the glove to second turned for a game-ending double play.
Wiling was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs for LeTourneau, while Carpenter also batted 1.000 in three at bats and drove in three. Croft was 2-for-2 with an RBI and pair of runs and pitched the complete game.
GAME 4: McMurry 7, Mary Hardin-Baylor 3
A silent game offensively broke through for Mary Hardin-Baylor (29-11) in the third inning with all three of its runs counting. Blakely Niles singled to right field to score Bralyn Belk. A two-RBI hit to right field by Julia Crofut extended the lead to three.
McMurry (26-13) got on the board with its first hit as a round-tripper by Bre Barajas in the fourth inning. Both teams exchanged zeros until a wild seventh.
The War Hawks were able to get the first run back on a bunt single by Abi. An error allowed Morgan Mehaf to knot the score at three, and then Jesse Stephe scored the leading run on a fielder’s choice hit by Megan Faubio. The biggest hit of the frame was a Mercedes Cam three-RBI triple down the right field line to make it 7-3.
Baylee Fulps preserved the score as she earned the win by tossing the final 4.2 innings and scattering seven hits with no runs. She had one strikeout.
UMHB tallied 12 hits with Izzy Gutierrez going 3-for-4 and Taylor Holman and Elissa Elliott having two each. Grayson Long went six innings in the start and allowed a run while striking out five.