Howard Payne picked up its first victory of the 2026 season Thursday afternoon, battling back on the road to defeat Arlington Baptist, 8–6, in a game that required both patience at the plate and poise on the mound.
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard. Joshua Lile set the tone in the opening inning, launching a two-run home run that plated Nader Gulamhusein and gave Howard Payne an early spark.
Arlington Baptist answered with a big second inning, scoring five runs to take a 6–2 lead, putting the Jackets in an early hole on the road. But instead of folding, Howard Payne methodically chipped away.
The comeback began in the third when Huston Cornish came around to score, followed by a fourth-inning RBI triple off the bat of Jace MacKenzie that trimmed the deficit further.
Howard Payne pulled even in the fifth inning. Eli McNair drove in a run and later scored, while Colby Chapman added an RBI knock to tie the game at 6–6.
The Jackets grabbed the lead for good in the sixth. Hunter Pope doubled to start the rally, MacKenzie delivered again with an RBI single, and Gulamhusein followed with a run-scoring double to cap the scoring at 8–6.
At the plate, Howard Payne tallied 11 hits and showed discipline with eight walks. MacKenzie led the charge with two hits including the triple and an RBI. McNair also collected two hits and drove in a run, while Chapman added two hits of his own. Gulamhusein reached base four times with two hits and two walks, and Lile's early two-run homer provided the game's opening jolt.
On the mound, Ty Phillips delivered the performance that steadied everything. Entering in relief, he tossed 5.2 shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out seven to earn the win and slam the door on Arlington Baptist's offense the rest of the way.
Head coach Stephen Lynn credited his club's response after the early deficit.
"I loved the way we stayed locked in," Lynn said. "We took their punch early, but nobody panicked. We kept stringing together quality at-bats, and Ty gave us exactly what we needed on the mound. That's the kind of toughness we've been building toward."
With the win, Howard Payne secures its first victory of the young season and builds momentum heading into Saturday's rematch against Arlington Baptist, which will serve as the Yellow Jackets' home opener at 1:00pm and 3:00pm.
