Howard Payne fell in the finale of its three-game homestand Friday night at Don Shepard Park, dropping a back-and-forth contest to Schreiner University 12–9 after a late Mountaineer surge in the ninth inning.

The Yellow Jackets jumped ahead with a big offensive push early in the game. After trailing 2–0, Howard Payne erupted in the third inning as Huston Cornish drove in two runs with a double to right field before Joshua Lile and Braden Franks followed with RBI doubles to cap a five-run frame that gave the Jackets a 5–2 advantage. Howard Payne added another run in the fourth when John Garza delivered an RBI single to score Eli McNair, extending the lead to 6–2. 

Schreiner slowly chipped away before breaking the game open in the ninth inning, scoring multiple runs in a rally that flipped the lead. Howard Payne continued to battle in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Jace MacKenzie and John Garza that trimmed the deficit to three before the rally ended.

Despite the loss, the Yellow Jackets totaled nine runs and several multi-hit performances while showing resilience late as they attempted a final comeback push.

"We showed tonight that this lineup can really compete and put pressure on teams," said Howard Payne head coach Stephen Lynn. "We built a good lead and swung the bats well, but baseball can turn fast and we've got to finish innings and close games out. I'm proud of how the guys kept fighting until the last out."