SEGUIN, Texas-- Texas Lutheran completed a three-game, non-conference baseball series sweep of Hardin-Simmons University with 9-2 and 9-3 home wins Friday. 

The Bulldogs pushed their record to 9-0, the best season start since 2007, with the win Thursday and the two wins Friday over the Cowboys. HSU dropped to 1-5 overall.

At Katt-Isbel Field, the Bulldogs opened big leads by middle innings in both contests to secure the victories.

In the two wins, TLU senior second baseman Ben Marvin (Kingwood/Kingwood) drove in three runs and went a combined 4-for-5 with two runs scored and one stolen base. Marvin had a pair of doubles in the first game and two singles in the late game. 

In the early game, redshirt-junior pitcher Nathan Malinovsky (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) struck out nine with five innings of relief to earn the win (1-0). Malinovsky allowed just two hits and walked only one. 

TLU came back from a 2-1 deficit in the early game by scoring six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Tyler Cauley (Baytown/Barbers Hill) helped secure the win with a three-run home run late in the fourth.

Senior Riley Schaefer (Thorndale/Thorndale) and junior Thomas Varner (Austin/Bowie) each had two hits. Schaefer went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Senior left fielder Matthew Lemon (Caldwell/Caldwell) hit a solo home run in the sixth for the Bulldogs.

In the 9-3 late-game win, Clint Johns (Orland/Orland) tossed 6-1/3 innings and finished with five hits and three runs allowed, two unearned. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
 
Landon Weatherly (Grandbury/Grandbury) earned the save with 2-1/3 innings of work. Weatherly entered the game with bases loaded in the top of the seventh and TLU clinging to a 7-3 lead. 

Chad Curtis (Wolfforth/Midland JC), Eric Rabinowitz (Schertz/Clemens) and Schaefer each drove in runs for the Bulldogs in game two.

TLU returns to action Friday with a non-conference game against University of Texas at Tyler. That game is the first game of a three-game series with UT Tyler. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at TLU's Katt-Isbel Field. TLU will have live video and stats on tlubulldogs.com for all three games of the series.