ABILENE, Texas – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas claimed the first baseball road wins and doubleheader sweep in the program's modern era Friday as they took two games at McMurry.
UST scored six unanswered runs in the final two innings to win the opener 6-3. The Celts jumped out to a 10-run lead in game two and then held on for a 13-11 victory.
The two teams conclude their series in Abilene on Saturday with a single game set to begin at 1 p.m.
GAME ONE: Celts 6, McMurry 3
The Celts fell behind 3-0 before scoring three in the sixth and three more in the seventh to stun the Warhawks. The first three Celts to bat in the top of the seventh reached base before Leo Galvan drew a bases-loaded walk to give UST its first lead of the game.
Galvan had two of the team's RBIs in the opening game, while Adam Scharf went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored. Cesar Arcizo also knocked two base hits in the game.
Pierce Taylor picked up his first victory of the season after pitching one and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief. Jason Brown then claimed the first save in the modern era when he pitched a scoreless seventh inning after the Celts completed their comeback.
Brown and Scharf both reached base to open the sixth inning before Galvan knocked a one-out single to score Brown and cut McMurry's lead to 3-1. Scharf later scored on an error, while Galvan tied the game on Noah Martinez' RBI single. The Celts took advantage of two McMurry errors in the sixth.
After Galvan's bases-loaded walk in the seventh gave the Celts a 4-3 lead, Scharf came home when Arcizo hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Pinch-runner Mitchell Gross scored the final run of the inning on Caleb Edmonds' RBI single.
GAME TWO: Celts 13, McMurry 11
Arcizo's 3-run home run capped an eight-run second inning as the Celts took 10-run leads multiple times in the game and then held on as McMurry's comeback fell short.
Brown went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Arcizo, Martinez, Nick Asaro and Jackson Rodgers all collected two base hits in the game.
UST starting pitcher Gavin Rhoads allowed just one earned run in four and two-thirds innings. Caleb Desilets was the winning pitcher for the Celts in game two, while Ryan Kubosh picked up a three-inning save.
The Celts' 13 runs came on only seven RBIs, as UST also took advantage of five McMurry errors in the contest. McMurry starter Chris Lewis took the loss as he was charged for 10 runs in one and two-thirds innings, though only three were earned.
