Game 1: Evangel 3, Texas A&M-Texarkana 4 | Box Score
Game 2: Evangel 6, Texas A&M-Texarkana 4 | Box Score
Records: Evangel (1-3); Texas A&M-Texarkana (3-1)
Location: Texarkana, Texas | George Dobson Field

TEXARKANA, Texas – The Evangel baseball team split the final two games of its season-opening series Saturday at Texas A&M-Texarkana taking game two 6-4 after falling 4-3 in game one.

Game 1

For the second straight day, Evangel got an outstanding effort on the mound from its starter. Hunter Hancock went six innings and scattered nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Evangel took an early 1-0 lead but the Eagles answered in the bottom of the first with a one-out double and an RBI single. From there Hancock would get support from his offense as Evangel tied the game in the second on an RBI double from Pat Gaul and took the lead in the third thanks to an A&M error.

However, the Eagles would use small ball to score two runs and regain the lead in the fifth inning.

Gaul finished 2 for 4 and Nathan Lamb was 2 for 3 to lead the Evangel offense. Noah Suiter and Grant Miller joined Gaul in collecting RBIs in the loss.

Game 2

Evangel again got another solid pitching performance in the second game as Austin Dill went 6.1 innings and picked up the first win of the season for the Crusaders.

Dill held the Eagles in check through the first five innings as Evangel took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning thanks to a Grant Miller 2-RBI double. Miller would single home Gaul in the sixth inning and pick up his fourth RBI of the game in the seventh inning.

The Crusaders added three runs in the seventh to take a 6-1 lead, as Noah Suiter and Stephen Belcher tallied the other two hits for Evangel.

Zach Johnston would earn the final two outs of the bottom of the seventh allowing just a hit before closing the door.

Dill scattered five hits and was charged with all four runs as he struck out four and walked two in the win.

Up Next

Evangel makes its home debut on Friday, Feb. 7, against William Woods in Springfield for a four-game series. First pitch both days are scheduled for 12 p.m.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelAthletics or go to www.EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Go Evangel Front Row App at EvangelAthletics.com/FrontRow available on Google Play and in the App Store. 

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