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BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS -- UTB/TSC scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit and secure a 10-4 victory over Huston-Tillotson and a sweep of their Red River Athletic Conference series Saturday at Scorpion Field.
The win boosts the Scorpions onto sole possession of the RRAC South Zone lead with a 5-1 record.
"It's always good to win a conference series," Scorpion head coach Bryan Aughney said." It's always tough to beat a team three times in a row, but we did. We came out flat a little bit, but we just stuck with it."
Saturday's game also marked the end to a streak of 17 straight home games for the Scorpions within a 15-day stretch that began March 14. UTB/TSC went 13-4 during the homestand, and has a March record of 16-7.
The Scorpions finally hit the road for a six-game stretch starting Tuesday, March 31, at Texas A&M International University in Laredo.
The win also lifted the Scorpions to a 20-20 season record, the first time the Scorpions have reached that mark since joining NAIA baseball in 2006.
"I guess we feel OK about it, and we could be a lot better than 500, but it's where we're at and hopefully we can keep it rolling this year," Aughney said. "We want to get some more games in the W column, so we're just going to go out and compete like we do every day and hopefully put ourselves in a good position to win some ball games."
In Saturday's game, the Scorpions were outhit by HTU, 11-8. Of the eight hits, five were bunt or infield singles.
"We stuck with it and we actually played our short game real well which allowed us to put ourselves in a position to win the game," Aughney said.
The game was tight after seven innings, with the Scorpions holding a 3-2 lead going into the eighth inning. HTU struck for two runs to take a 4-3 lead before UTB/TSC exploded for seven runs in the bottom part of the frame.
Jacob Yousif led off the inning with a solo homer the hits kept coming. Yousif finished the day going 3-for-5 with four RBI. Juan Munoz added two hits while Munoz, Matt Warner and Jose Guerra scored twice.
Evan Hardman (4-3) was the winner in relief. Zack Moya started for the Scorpions, going almost seven innings and allowing only two earned runs.
