Brownwood, Texas - The Yellow Jacket Baseball Club completed the sweep of Hardin-Simmons by a score of 5-4 after a senior filled starting lineup was replaced at the conclusion of the 4th inning.
After these two high powered offenses were held silent after 4 ½ innings, Cliff Lunceford got the scoring started by lacing a single to the left side scoring Jacob Salazar Noah Payne then walked in Zach Gingrich that same inning.
Then, when the players were warming up prior to the 5th inning, a starting lineup that consisted of only one non-senior, was exchanged for 7 underclassmen defensive players and one position change that moved Tucker Cavaness from right filed to second base. This made him the only senior still on the field and one of two, next to Wesley Haman, in the lineup. This move was a sort of "passing of the torch," some might say. A chance for the seniors to rest after a long, emotional weekend, and a chance for some younger players to get quality playing time a head of the conference tournament.
After that beautiful gesture, the Jacket pitching staff ran into some trouble in the 5th, giving up the lead, 3-2.
In the bottom of the 5th, Tucker Cavaness hit a hard single to left that brought home Manny Torralba and Sam Bosher putting the Jackets back up, 4-3.
Cade Varrichio then laced a single to left scoring Keldon Crawford to make it a 5-3 game.
Hardin-Simmons scraped one across in the 8th, but Brenden Clanton slammed the door in the 9th to clinch the sweep for Howard Payne.
Nine different Jackets recorded a hit in this contest being led by Tucker Cavaness who turned in a 2-2 performance with two walks and two RBIs.
Preston Newman got the start for HPU going 4.2 innings and giving up 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, and striking out 3. Ben Schardt got the win closing out the top of the 5th inning and Brenden Clanton grabbed his 7th save of the season working a clean 9th.
Howard Payne ends the regular season with a 26-14 record overall, 17-4 in ASC play. They will be hosting the Blue Bracket of the American Southwest Conference Tournament, here, at Don Shepard Park. They will be taking on LETU on Thursday at 3:00 pm. Make plans to come out and support your Yellow Jackets as they look to stay hot at home, and continue their quest towards an ASC Championship.,
The link to the ASC Tournament Page can be found here.
