'Roos Sweep Twinbill with Blackburn

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College baseball team stepped out of conference play for a doubleheader against visiting Blackburn College on Tuesday, sweeping the Beavers with a 13-3 win in game one and a 4-3 victory to cap the twinbill. The 'Roos are now 8-14 overall on the year.

Blackburn jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first in game one thanks to a double steal, but Austin College quickly put four runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning with Desmond Squalls singling home a pair of runs and Mason Woodhouse adding a two-run double. After the Beavers cut it to a 4-2 lead in the second, the 'Roos exploded for six runs in the bottom of the frame to go ahead 10-2 and never looked back.

Tino Ramirez got the scoring started with two-run base hit, and Isaac Villa came home on a double steal in the next at-bat. Squalls added another RBI single, and RayShawn Riley, Mason Woodhouse, and Easton Clark all came home on errors to cap the inning. Riley pushed the margin to 11-2 in the third with an RBI single, and Jack Wilhelm wrapped up Austin College's scoring in the fourth with a two-run double to make it 13-2. Blackburn managed to push one more run across in the sixth to make it a 13-2 final.

Asher Thompson picked up the win after giving up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work, and Squalls finished 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead Austin College offensively. Villa was 2-for-2 with three runs and two stolen bases, and Wilhelm, Riley, and Ashton Cason each had a pair of hits in the win. Andrew Lozano led Blackburn with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.

The Beavers once again jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first in game two, as an error allowed Harley Carney to come home, but Jayden Ayala-Hinojosa evened things up with an RBI in the bottom of the inning to make it 1-1. Scott Hosmer launched a solo homer in the second to put Austin College on top, and an error in the third allowed Ramirez to come home in the third to make it 3-1. 

Blackburn trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth, but Hosmer added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it a 4-2 game. That run would prove to be crucial, as the Beavers got a run home in the seventh to once again make it a one-run game, but Jonas CeBallos closed the door for his first save. Zach Andrews got the win, giving up one run on one hit in 2.0 innings of work, and Ramirez was 2-for-3 to lead Austin College offensively. CJ Brunaugh led Blackburn with a 2-for-3 performance, and Alex Coffman took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits in a complete game performance.