AUSTIN, Texas – TY MURRAY put the exclamation point on nine unanswered runs for St. Edward's baseball with a go-ahead, two-RBI single in the eighth inning for a 9-8 Hilltopper win to split the four-game series with Eastern New Mexico. 
 
Eastern New Mexico carried all the momentum through the first five-and-a-half innings, scoring seven runs while keeping the Hilltoppers scoreless. 
 
Demetrio Archuleta sparked Eastern New Mexico with a one-out double off the right-field fence in the top of the first, then scored off a Willie Ponce chopper that took a high bounce over first baseman NICHOLAS ANDERSON's head and into right field. 
 
St. Edward's starter, LUKE NEGRETE, walked the next two, but the Hilltoppers kept the damage to a minimum with a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning – their first of four on the day. 
 
Luciano Terilli opened the top of the second with a shot to deep right-center that fell out of TY MURRAY's glove in right field, putting Terilli on third with the error. Negrete responded by striking out Dylan Shea but hit Landon Pyles on a bunt attempt to put runners on the corners. 
 
Tucker Gideon grounded to second, but the Hilltoppers couldn't complete the double play in time to prevent the run from scoring from third. Archuleta followed with a shot off the center-field fence for a stand-up triple to score Gideon for the 3-0 lead. 
 
St. Edward's threatened with runners on the corners in the third, but Eastern New Mexico starter Julian Lopez battled back from a 3-0 count to catch a hitter looking to end the inning. 
 
BEN SMEDSHAMMER took the mound for St. Edward's and walked the first two hitters, then surrendered an RBI single to Beau Preston, followed by a Terilli single to right field to load the bases, with Pyles driving in two with a double to deep left-center. 
 
Nicholas Davis replaced Smedshammer and surrendered an RBI single to Giedon for the 7-0 lead before striking out the next two to get out of the inning. Davis walked two of the first three hitters to start the fourth but got out of the job with a 4-6-3 double play. 
 
St. Edward's loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, leaving all three runners stranded on a called third strike, and Ponce added another run for Easter New Mexico in the sixth with a solo blast to right field, just over the glove of the leaping Murray. 
 
Eastern New Mexico went to its bullpen to start the bottom of the sixth, ending Lopez's afternoon after five scoreless innings with four strikeouts, three hits surrendered, and three walks, and nearly surrendered the entire lead in one inning. 
 
The bullpen totaled three walks and hit two batters against St. Edward's first five hitters, loading the bases and scoring two runs before the first out. After Sebek popped out to shortstop, a Greyhound fielding error on a DAVIS DREWEK grounder scored two more Hilltopper runs. 
 
DILLON FLORES followed with a three-run blast over the left-field fence to bring St. Edward's back within one at 8-7. 
 
Eastern New Mexico threatened against reliever KEVIN SKWERES with two walks in the seventh, but AUSTIN ESSEX entered the game and induced another inning-ending double play. 
 
Archuleta drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, then stole second after a Ponce flyout to center, but Murray got a great jump on Pruitt's line drive to right for the second out, and Hamilton grounded out to end the inning. 
 
CARLO FIGUEROA led off the bottom of the eighth with a shot back up the middle, nearly taking the ear off Eastern New Mexico reliever Zach Raichel. Sebek moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Raichel walked Drewek and Flores back-to-back to load the bases. 
 
After Anderson went down swinging, Murray came through with a clutch two-RBI single to give St. Edward's the 9-8 lead. 
 
A Dylan Shea two-out single to center field put the tying run on, with Dominick Cassell pinch-running for him, but Pyles popped out to Figueroa to end the game. 
 
Murray led St. Edward's with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in two and scoring a run. The senior right fielder ended the series hitting 6-for-13 (.462) with a double, a walk, four runs scored, and two RBI. He's hitting .520 with 13 hits in seven starts since entering the line-up full-time. Essex went 2.2 innings and retired eight of nine batters to pick up the win.
 
St. Edward's improves to 6-8 and climbs back to .500 in conference play with a 6-6 record after the win. The Hilltopper will travel to Oklahoma next weekend to play Cameron.