HUNTNGTON, Ind. - The Huntington baseball team went 1-1 against Marian Thursday afternoon to kick off their last regular season four-game homestand at Forest Glen Park. Game one favored the Knights, 6-4, while the nightcap went HU's way 6-1.
The visitors got a late start in the opener, but their delay served them well. After scoring just once through the first six frames, the Knights started their comeback in the seventh with their second run of the afternoon to pull within two at 4-2. By the eighth, MU had knotted things up at 4-4 after which they took charge of the ninth with two more runs for the go ahead that stuck as HU had no answer in the bottom of the frame.
Huntington's first two runs came in the first when Gregory Nolasco Berroa tripled in a run and then came around to score on Matt Wolff's RBI-single to right field. Dylan Rost went yard in the fourth. The sixth saw Parker Richards, Ryne Wheeler's courtesy runner, steal second, take third on a wild pitch and then scampered home on the same play compliments of an errant throw by the catcher.
HU posted nine hits with lead-off Bryce Deckman collecting a pair.
Adam Oxley came in on relief in the eighth, giving up two hits, two runs and a walk to be charged with the loss.
While both squads struck for seven hits in game two, the Foresters were able to optimize their conversion rate as it related to runs on the scoreboard. Just like game one, Berroa had a part in the nightcap's first run. After singling up the middle, the left fielder swiped the next two bags and then took advantage of a wild throw to touch home.
Marian tied things up in the third, scoring their only run on a sac fly but the stalemate didn't last long. In the home half of the frame, Berroa used his speed to score again. After another shot up the middle, he stole second and then made his way home via two wild pitches. Jordan Malott extended HU's lead to 3-1 with an RBI-double and then came around to score on another two-bagger, this one at the bat of Sebastian Kuhns.
Malott and Kuhns teamed up again in the fifth with Malott's RBI-fielder's choice pushing another run across home plate while Kuhns logged a run-scoring single to drive in the final fun of the contest. Berroa finished 3-for-3 at the plate and scored each time. Kuhns added two hits and two RBI.
Graham Kollen silenced the Knights' offense from the hill. He gave up seven hits and one run while striking out four without issuing any walks to pick up the complete-game win.
The Foresters (27-19, 21-13) wrap up the regular season on Saturday with another doubleheader against Marian.
The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 154 NAIA All-America honors and 501 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.
