BELTON, Texas — A nine-run deficit proved to be just one run too much for the Pacific baseball team to overcome on Sunday afternoon, when they fell to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 10-9.

The Boxers will return from Texas with a 4-4 record, while the Crusaders picked up their first win of the year to move to 1-4.

The contest was all Crusaders at the beginning as the home team built a 10-1 lead through six innings of play at Red Murff Field. Mary Hardin-Baylor used a trio of two-run homers to help build that lead, one each by Cody Stone, Chase Burrow and Will Stafford. The Crusaders led 9-0 after five.

Pacific finally got on the board in the sixth on Ben Roquet's RBI-single, but UMHB answered with a run of their own in the bottom half to make it 10-1.

But the momentum finally shifted in the seventh stanza. The Boxers crossed the plate six times, rapping out six hits in a crazy inning that made the count 10-7. Dylan Wright had a two-run triple to highlight the scoring and Kane Ulrich added a run scoring double. Pacific also had RBI-singles from Joey Galeno, Justin Strayer and Roquet. The visitors sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.

In the top of the ninth, the drama continued. Roquet added another RBI base knock and the Boxers loaded the bases with no one out. A ground ball double play brought in another run to make it 10-9, but a strikeout ended the game.

The Boxers had 13 hits in the contest, three each by Galeno and Roquet. Charlie Dietrich added a pair of hits, as did Wright. Both of Wright's shots were for extra bases. Nathan Suyematsu took the loss on the mound for the Boxers. Cory Farr pitched the ninth inning for the Crusaders to pick up the save.

The Boxers will jump into Northwest Conference play this coming weekend, traveling to Newberg to take on George Fox in a three-game series. The Boxers and Bruins will play a twinbill on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m., with Sunday's single game starting at noon.