BELTON, Texas -
Rider Gordon and
Carter Bennett each hit two-run homers, but Mary Hardin-Baylor was able to fight off a late Claremont-Mudd-Scripps comeback and salvage the final game of a three-game series with an 8-6 win on Sunday afternoon to open the 2026 season.
The Stags won the first two games 11-0 and 8-3, and move to 2-1 on the young season with Sunday's defeat, while the Crusaders start out the year 1-2.
Gordon was able to erase an early two-run deficit after
Dillon Martin led off the fourth inning with a single. Gordon then took a pitch over the fence to get CMS back level at 2-2.
The sixth inning proved to be pivotal, as CMS left the bases loaded in the bottom half with a chance to take the lead. Martin led off with a single, Jasper Shue walked and
Blaise Heher singled, but Zach Hampton was able to escape the jam. The Crusaders then plated four runs in the bottom half to surge ahead,
With four outs left to play with and down 8-2, CMS had a late comeback.
Bryce Didrickson hit a two-out double in the eighth, and came home on an RBI single from Heher to close the gap to 8-3.
In the ninth,
Max Pemberton led off with a single and
Carter Bennett hit a two-run homer to get the Stags within 8-5 with nobody out.
Alex Henderson walked and Gordon singled with one out, before Didrickson had another big hit with an RBI single to make the score 8-6.
Jacob Haynes came out of the bullpen for the Crusaders with the go-ahead run at the plate for the Crusaders, and yielded a single to Shue, but Gordon was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw from left field. Heher walked to load the bases with two outs, but Haynes was able to get the pressure-packed final out on a pop up to secure the win.
Six different Stags finished the game with two hits apiece, with Martin, Didrickson, Heher and Pemberton each finishing 2-for-4, and Bennett and Gordon ending 2-for-5.
Aaron Herst (1.1 innings) and
Jacob Young (scoreless eighth) each had shutout stints out of the CMS bullpen.
CMS will be back in action in two weeks for its SCIAC opening three-game series against Occidental on Feb. 20-21.