ABILENE, Texas - The Howard Payne University baseball team completed a three-game sweep over Hardin-Simmons University with two come from behind victories (6-4 and 13-11) on Saturday afternoon at Hunter Field.

Noah Payne capped a six-run seventh inning with an RBI double to left center to bring in Jay Holland and Bailey Smith to help give Howard Payne the late 6-4 victory in game one. Zach Moseley picked up his sixth save on the season and the Howard Payne offense scored six runs on eight hits to clinch the win.

The Jackets trailed 11-9 entering the ninth inning until Chris Byrd singled to left field to bring in two runs and help deliver the 13-11 victory during game two. Noah Payne finished 3-5 from the plate with three runs scored and Chris Byrd was 3-4 with four RBI's and one run scored. Howard Payne relied on their bullpen depth and ended up using a total of six pitchers over nine full innings of play to clinch the series sweep.

The Howard Payne offense was held to just one hit over five innings to start the first game of the doubleheader and both teams were scoreless through the first three innings. The Cowboys got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when they were able to hit back to back singles to left field and bring one runner across the plate with two outs.

Some nifty base running and timely at-bats led to two more runs in the bottom of the fifth for Hardin-Simmons and things seemed to be shaping up pretty nicely for the Cowboys to break up the potential series clinching victory over the Jackets.
After scoring one more run in the bottom of the sixth, Hardin-Simmons would take a 4-0 lead into the final inning of play.

Fortunately for Howard Payne, that's when the offense started to click, going off for six runs on six hits to storm from behind and take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the final inning. Brett Quackenbush led off the inning with a double down the left field line and Kyle Winstead followed with a single to left field. Benjamin Lewis walked to load the bases for David Groves.

Groves drove a ball to deep center field to bring Benjamin Lewis and Ian Tyra around to score and get things started. Jay Holland then doubled down the right-field line to put runners back into scoring position for the Jackets and Joshua Gerig would bring Justin Anderson around to score and tie the game up at 4-4 with a single to right field.

Noah Payne put the finish touches on the rally when he stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Payne crushed a ball to deep left-center to score Smith and Holland and give Howard Payne the 6-4 lead. 

Zach Moseley would come to close out the game for the Jackets and after giving up a ground-rule double, would go on to force two ground outs to help deliver the 6-4 victory in seven innings. Wesley Smith picked up his first win on the mound for Howard Payne.

The second and final game in the series would be an entirely different affair than the first game. Both teams combined for 26 hits and 24 runs in the nine-inning game. The Jackets started the game with Nathan Weyrauch on the hill but would end up using six pitchers throughout the game. The strategy proved beneficial as Howard Payne received some clutch hits and held on to pick up the 13-11 win.

Hardin-Simmons scored one unearned run in the first inning and the Jackets responded by scoring two runs in the top of the second when Benjamin Lewis led off the inning with an infield single. David Groves followed with a walk and after both runners stole a base, Chris Byrd stepped up to the plate and belted a ball to right field to bring home Lewis. Ian Tyra would then reach on a fielder's choice and bring Groves around to make it 2-1 HPU.

The Cowboys answered right back in the bottom of the inning, using back-to-back, two-out, RBI doubles score four runs on three hits after some clever base running put them into scoring position throughout the inning. Hardin-Simmons would get one more run on the board in the form of a home run to left field to make it 5-2.

Noah Payne doubled to start the third inning and came around to score after a Lewis sacrifice fly. David Groves, Michael Nowak, and Chris Byrd hit three consecutive singles to bring Kyle Winstead and David Groves around to score and make it 5-5 after four full innings of play.

The Cowboys rounded the bases two more times in the fifth inning to pull ahead 7-5, only to see Howard Payne respond with a four-run sixth inning to regain a 9-8 lead. A two-run RBI homer to left field in the seventh would again close the gap and give Hardin-Simmons an 11-9 lead heading into the games final inning of play.

Brett Quackenbush got the offense started with a deep RBI home run to right field and Kyle Winstead singled down the left field line on the ensuing at-bat. Winstead would steal second and come around to score after Chris Byrd singled to center field. Byrd's single would also score David Groves and give Howard Payne the 13-11 victory after holding the Cowboys bats silent in the bottom of the inning.

Next up, the Jackets will return home to host LeTourneau University at Don Shepard on Friday, March 24th at 2:00 PM. Live video and stats can be found at HPUSports.com and also, follow along on Twitter, @HPUHardball and Instagram, @HPUSports for in-game updates, interactive content and more.