BELTON, TX-Celts baseball team suffered a tough 17-7 loss to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday evening. The defeat drops the Celts to 6-6 on the season, while remaining 5-3 in conference

The Celts got off to a strong start in the top of the first inning. Dylan McKee doubled to left field, driving in Alex Trinh to give St. Thomas an early 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Anthony Benavidez drew a bases-loaded walk, allowing Ryan Ratajczak to score and pushing the lead to 2-0.

However, Mary Hardin-Baylor responded in the bottom of the first, tying the game at 2-2. The Celts regained the lead in the top of the second when Alex Trinh launched a two-run home run, scoring Eduardo Tamez and making it 4-2.

The Cru quickly turned the game around in the bottom of the second. UMHB hit a three-run home run, giving them a 5-4 lead. They extended their advantage in the third inning with back-to-back RBI doubles and anothers two-run homer, taking an 11-4 lead. The Cru added two more runs in the fourth, stretching their lead to 13-4.

St. Thomas struggled to slow down UMHB's offense, as the Cru added two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to make it 16-4. The Celts showed some life in the top of the seventh when Sam Lampson crushed a three-run home run, driving in Jorge Torres and Nathan Pinon to cut the deficit to 16-7. However, the Celts were unable to sustain the momentum, as UMHB ended the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Up Next

The Celts will look to bounce back as they take on Austin College in a three-game conference series starting Friday, March 14, and concluding Saturday, March 15. Follow all the action and updates by following @USTCeltbaseball on Instagram.