CLEBURNE, Texas - The Austin College baseball team fell in an early hole and was unable to come all the way back against Howard Payne, falling 7-4 to the Jackets on Tuesday evening in Cleburne. The 'Roos are now 0-6 on the year.
The Jackets got on the board in the top of the first, loading the bases before Ryan Culp was able to pitch his way out of the jam surrendering just one run. An RBI triple for Howard Payne made it 2-0 in the third, and the Jackets tacked on two more runs in the inning to make it a 4-0 game. Austin College got on the board in the top of the fourth, with Logan Ballard singling home a run and then scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning, and Scott Hosmer launched a solo home run in the fifth to cut it to 4-3.
Howard Payne added two more runs in the bottom half of the inning, however, pushing it to a 6-3 game before Zack Mahoney blasted a solo homer to left center in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-4 game. That's as close as Austin College would get, though, as HPU added another run in the seventh and neither team was able to plate any runners after that.
Culp took the loss after giving up six runs - only three earned - in 5.0 innings of work, scattering five hits but issuing six walks. Mahoney went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Ballard went 2-for-4.