SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College baseball team jumped out to a 9-0 lead and held on after a furious comeback by Arlington Baptist, topping the Patriots 9-8 to win the team's season opener and the first game under new head coach Mike Ramsey. Austin College and the Patriots will meet again for a doubleheader tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.

Austin College jumped on top 3-0 after one inning when Dylan Day scored on a wild pitch, and Will Schommer delivered a two run single in the bottom of the first. The lead grew to 5-0 in the third when Schommer brought Todd Takabuki home on a sacrifice fly, and James Arguello would later come home on another wild pitch as Austin College took advantage of a costly error for the Patriots in the inning.

Four more runs came home in the fourth to push it to a 9-0 margin, with Arguello getting things started with an RBI single. Chance Hatchel singled home another run, and Arguello came home on an error on the play for the third run of the inning. Thomas Oberg finished up the scoring with a single through the left side to plate Hatchel.

Arlington Baptist finally started to get rolling on offense in the fifth, collecting six hits and plating four runs to cut it to a 9-4 game, and two costly errors at the start of the sixth opened the door for four more runs for the Patriots to trim it to a 9-8 game. However, Josh Lewis would come in to start the top of the seventh and tossed 3.0 nearly perfect innings, allowing just one walk and no hits while striking out four batters to earn the save.

Blaine Tew picked up the opening day win, allowing eight runs, only four earned, on 13 hits with six strikeouts against just one walk. Oberg finished 4-for-5 at the plate, and Gus Daniel went 2-for-4 with two doubles. Takabuki finished 1-for-3 with a double and three runs, and Schommer finished 1-for-3 with three RBI.

Erick Garcia took the loss for Arlington Baptist, giving up nine runs, six earned, on 10 hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work. Brandt Roush went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Florentino Moreno went 2-for-5 with two RBI to pace the Patriots.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.