Howard Payne flashes resilience in ASC first round

Howard Payne’s postseason run opened Thursday night with flashes of fight, but a late surge from East Texas Baptist proved to be the difference as the Yellow Jackets fell 12-4 in the first round of the ASC Baseball Championship in Marshall. After East Texas Baptist jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning, Howard Payne settled in behind starting pitcher Luke Watkins, who worked through early traffic and kept the deficit within reach across four innings, striking out four. The Yellow Jackets began to chip away in the fourth inning when Nader Gulamhusein sparked the frame with a…