BELTON, TX -- The Howard Payne Lady Jackets brought a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, but could not hold on and fell 5-2 to the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders Saturday.

Bree Cason (6-6) started and took the loss in the circle for Howard Payne (8-10, 1-5).

Maddison Cason led the way offensively for the Lady Jackets, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a double. Elise Munoz provided a noteworthy effort as well, going 1-for-3 with a double. Kayla Camacho also helped out, going 1-for-3 for Howard Payne with a double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lady Jackets were trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning when they first put runs on the board. Camacho came across to score the lone run of the inning for Howard Payne and get them on the board.

The score stayed at 1-1 until the very next inning, when the Lady Jackets put runs on the scoreboard once again. Howard Payne scored once on a run-scoring single off the bat of Kamryn Gomez, which brought the score to 2-1 in favor of the Lady Jackets. The Lady Jackets were unable to hold the lead, as Mary Hardin-Baylor scored four times over the remaining one inning to grab the 5-2 win.

GAME NOTES

» Howard Payne's highest scoring inning was the sixth, when it pushed one run across.
» Howard Payne pitchers faced 30 Mary Hardin-Baylor hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and four fly balls while striking out five.
» Maddison Cason led the Lady Jackets at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double.
» Mary Hardin-Baylor was led offensively by B. Frenzel, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI.
» E. Whyte led the Crusaders pitching staff, throwing seven innings of two-run ball.

The Lady Jackets will stay on the road next week as they take on LeTourneau in Longview, Texas for a three-game series with games set for 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM on Friday with Saturday slated for 1:00 PM.