2025 Championship Central
MARSHALL, Texas – Three games were completed in the first day of the 2025 American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship at Woods Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist. No. 4 Seed Hardin-Simmons edged No. 5 Seed Howard Payne in the opening contest. No. 2 Seed LeTourneau moved past No. 3 Seed Mary Hardin-Baylor. No. 1 East Texas Baptist closed the night with a win over No. 4 Hardin-Simmons.
Hardin-Simmons will play Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday at 11:00 a.m. in an elimination game, while LeTourneau and East Texas Baptist compete at 3:00 p.m. The third game of the day and sixth overall will be at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of Game 4 and the loser of Game 5 and will be an elimination contest.
Game 1 | Hardin-Simmons 4, Howard Payne 3 | Box Score
Hardin-Simmons earned a 4-3 win over Howard Payne in an elimination play-in game to advance to the remainder of the tournament. The Yellow Jackets kept a close contest, but the Cowboys held the lead throughout.
Scoring Summary:
2
nd | Luke Kirkbride tripled to right center to score Jake Trapani. [HSU 1, HPU 0]
4
th | Cannon Negron singled through the right side to score Jacob Hollingsworth. [HSU 2, HPU 0]
6
th | Jace Mackenzie singled to right field to score Hunter Rasnick-Pope. [HSU 2, HPU 1]
6
th | Jake Trapani homered. [HSU 3, HPU 1]
7
th | Hunter Rasnick-Pope singled up the middle and scored Landon Prestage. [HSU 3, HPU 2]
7
th | Brock Calvillo flied out to left field. Quincy McGraw scored, unearned. [HSU 4, HPU 2]
8
th | William Burford doubled to left center to score Grant Pfaff [HSU 4, HPU 3]
Pitching Decision:
Alex Carte earned the win for the Cowboys, pitching 6.2 innings with two runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts. Daylan Bower took the loss for the Yellow Jackets, pitching 7.0 innings with three earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.
Stat Leaders:
Burford and Rasnick-Pope each recorded four hits and an RBI for Howard Payne. Trapani and Kirkbride led the Cowboys with two hits each.
Game 2 | LeTourneau 19, Mary Hardin-Baylor 9 | Box Score
LeTourneau earned a 19-9 seven-inning victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor to advance to the winners bracket. The YellowJackets used an explosive first inning to take an 11-2 lead before adding eight more runs in the final innings.
Scoring Summary:
1
st | Shane Melick homered; Riley Bender scored. [UMHB 2, LETU 0]
1
st | Dane Jones homered; Austin Wiederhold scored. [UMHB 2, LETU 2]
1
st | Jack Kale singled to right field to score Luke Land and Xander Nabors. [LETU 4, UMHB 2]
1
st | Zach Baker singled down the left field line, scoring Hayden Norris (unearned) and Jack Kale. [LETU 6, UMHB 2]
1
st | Brice Cagle scored on a wild pitch. [LETU 7, UMHB 2]
1
st | Dane Jones singled up the middle to score Austin Wiederhold and Zach Baker. [LETU 9, UMHB 2]
1
st | Xander Nabors homered; Dane Jones scored. [LETU 11, UMHB 2]
2
nd | Cameron Talburt homered; Austin Birkhoff scored. [LETU 11, UMHB 4]
6
th | Isaac Price singled to center field to score Jack Kale. [LETU 12, UMHB 4]
6
th | Austin Wiederhold homered; Zach Baker, Brice Cagle and Isaac Price scored. [LETU 16, UMHB 4]
6
th | Dane Jones homered. [LETU 17, UMHB 4]
6
th | Jack Kale singled through the right side, scoring Xander Nabors. [LETU 18, UMHB 4]
7
th | Easton Cline singled to center field, scoring Carson Hagan and Tyler Betts. [LETU 18, UMHB 6]
7
th | Alejandro Sanchez II doubled to right center to score Easton Cline. [LETU 18, UMHB 7]
7
th | Jasson Hemmerling Jr singled up the middle, scoring Alejandro Sanchez II and Shane Melick. [LETU 18, UMHB 9]
7
th | Austin Wiederhold singled to right field; Brice Cagle scored (unearned). [LETU 19, UMHB 9]
Pitching Decision:
Aman Patel earned the win for the YellowJackets, pitching 6.0 innings with six runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Kolby McBee took the loss for the Cru, pitching 0.1 innings with seven runs on five hits.
Stat Leaders:
Four YellowJackets recorded three or more hits. Jake Kale led the way going 4-for-5 with three RBI. Dane Jones, Brice Cagle and Zach Baker each totaled three hits. Jones and Austin Wiederhold recorded a team-high five RBI each. Jasson Hemmerling and Cameron Talbert led the Cru with two hits and two RBI each.
Game 3 | East Texas Baptist 6, Hardin-Simmons 4 | Box Score
East Texas Baptist earned a 6-4 win over Hardin-Simmons to advance to the winners bracket. The Tigers took an early lead in the contest, but the Cowboys fought back to tie it 4-4 in the 8
th inning. ETBU responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the advantage.
Scoring Summary:
2
nd | Connor Massimini homered; William Howard scored. [ETBU 2, HSU 0]
2
nd | Dylan Burnaman homered. [ETBU 3, HSU 0]
6
th | Karson Leatherwood homered. [ETBU 3, HSU 1]
7
th | Jake Trapani grounded out and Jacob Hollingsworth scored (unearned). [ETBU 3, HSU 2]
7
th | Carson Livesay grounded out and Luke Bumpus scored. [ETBU 4, HSU 2]
8
th | Jacob Hollingsworth homered; Justin Blancaflor scored. [ETBU 4, HSU 4]
8
th | Joaquin Costa reached on a fielder's choice and scored Chance Crawford. [ETBU 5, HSU 4]
8
th | Luke Finn scored on a bases-loaded walk. [ETBU 6, HSU 4]
Pitching Decision:
Carson Speegle earned the win for the Tigers, pitching 2.2 innings with two runs on two hits with four strikeouts. Johnny Follett took the loss for the Cowboys, pitching 0.2 innings with two runs on one hit with one strikeout.
Stat Leaders:
Luke Finn and Dylan Burnaman led the Tigers with two hits each. Jacob Hollingsworth led the Cowboys with two hits and two RBI.