Marshall, Texas – The 2026 American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship is set, with No. 1 seed East Texas Baptist University and No. 2 seed Hardin-Simmons University advancing to Sunday’s title game. East Texas Baptist secured its spot with a 6-5 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor, while Hardin-Simmons reached the championship after defeating Howard Payne earlier in the day. They then battled against UMHB, finishing on top by one run at 8-7.
The two programs met in early April, with East Texas Baptist sweeping the four-game series. Since then, Hardin-Simmons has won seven of its last eight conference games, while ETBU enters championship Sunday riding a 15-game winning streak dating back to March 28.
The championship matchup is scheduled for Sunday, May 3 at 1:00 p.m. If necessary, a winner-take-all Game 7 will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 6.
Game 3 [Elimination] | Howard Payne 7, Hardin-Simmons 9 | Box Score
Hardin-Simmons rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat Howard Payne University 9-7 in a back-and-forth battle at the ASC Baseball Championship. HPU built a 4-0 lead early behind home runs from Landon Prestage and Braden Franks, but Hardin-Simmons chipped away with four homers of its own — including a game-tying two-run shot from Jacob Hollingsworth in the fifth. After Howard answered with a three-run sixth, the Cowboys responded again, tying the game in the inning before taking the lead for good with a two-run eighth inning comeback.
Scoring Summary
1st | Landon Prestage put Howard on the board with a two-run homer for an early 2-0 lead.
2nd | Jace Mackenzie added an RBI single to extend Howard’s advantage to 3-0.
3rd | Braden Franks launched a solo home run for Howard, but Hunter Trojacek answered with an RBI triple for Hardin-Simmons to make it 4-1.
4th | Paul Samaripa hit a solo homer as Hardin-Simmons cut the deficit to 4-2.
5th | Jacob Hollingsworth tied the game with a two-run home run, evening the score at 4-4.
6th | Howard regained control with RBI hits from Landon Prestage and Joshua Lile to score three runs, but Hardin-Simmons answered with a Samaripa solo homer and a sacrifice fly from Benji Fielder to pull within one, 7-6.
8th | Hollingsworth tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Hardin-Simmons took the lead on a two-run sequence sparked by Gavin Bruning, completing the comeback for a 9-7 edge.
Game 4 | East Texas Baptist 6, Mary Hardin-Baylor 5 | Box Score
East Texas Baptist edged out Mary Hardin-Baylor 6-5 in a tightly contested ASC contest, using a ninth-inning RBI single to complete the comeback. UMHB struck first with a three-run homer from Chris Perez in the second and continued to get key swings from Riley Bender and Tyler Martin to build and regain leads throughout the game. ETBU stayed within striking distance all afternoon before delivering the game-winner in the final at-bat.
On the mound, ETBU’s Isaac Thornton steadied the game with eight innings of work, allowing just four earned runs while striking out nine, keeping the Tigers within reach long enough for the late rally.
Scoring Summary
2nd | Chris Perez crushed a three-run home run to give UMHB a 3-0 lead.
5th | ETBU answered with a sacrifice fly from Carson Livesay, followed by a two-run single from Joaquin Costa and a run scoring on an error to take a 4-3 lead.
6th | Tyler Martin’s sacrifice fly brought UMHB level at 4-4.
7th | Carter Nannini’s sacrifice fly pushed ETBU back in front 5-4.
9th | Riley Bender tied the game for UMHB with a solo home run, making it 5-5.
9th | Carter Nannini delivered the walk-off RBI single to score Carson Livesay, sealing a 6-5 win for ETBU.
Game 5 [Elimination] | Hardin-Simmons 8, Mary Hardin-Baylor 7 | Box Score
Hardin-Simmons defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor 8-7 in a back-and-forth elimination game Saturday night, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Hardin-Simmons struck first with a two-run opening inning, but UMHB answered with a five-run third to swing momentum behind timely hitting and patient at-bats. The Cowboys kept chipping away, however, tying the game in the eighth before Benji Fielder delivered the walk-off RBI single in the ninth to complete the comeback.
On the mound, Caleb Reynolds provided a major lift in relief for Hardin-Simmons, tossing 6.1 innings while allowing just two runs and striking out seven to steady the game after UMHB’s early surge. At the plate, Gavin Bruning led the Cowboys’ offense with four hits and four RBI, while Riley Bender paced UMHB with a two-homer performance.
Scoring Summary
1st | Gavin Bruning singled home two runs to give Hardin-Simmons an early 2-0 lead.
3rd | UMHB erupted for five runs, highlighted by Cameron Talburt’s two-run triple, an RBI walk from Easton Cline, a hit-by-pitch RBI from Tyler Martin, and an RBI walk from Landon Pyles to take a 5-2 advantage. Hardin-Simmons answered in the bottom half with an RBI single from Bruning and a sacrifice fly from Paul Samaripa to trim it to 5-4.
5th | Riley Bender launched a solo home run for UMHB, but Hardin-Simmons responded with a Gavin Bruning solo homer and an RBI single from Benji Fielder to tie the game at 6-6.
8th | Bender struck again with his second solo homer of the game to put UMHB in front 7-6, before Catcher Ridings answered with an RBI single in the bottom half to even the score at 7-7.
9th | Benji Fielder lined the game-winning RBI single to left field, lifting Hardin-Simmons to an 8-7 victory.
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