BASEBALL

Opening weekend served the Forester baseball team well as they came away from the Clash of the Conferences with three wins under the belt. Originally scheduled to play four games at TVA Credit Union Stadium, weather disrupted plans as HU picked up two wins against host Milligan College, 7-5, 7-4, on Friday and another on Saturday against Concordia (Mich.) with their fourth game against Rio Grande getting cancelled.

Against the Buffaloes on Friday, Frame’s crew posted big innings late in each contest to mount impressive comebacks. In game one, the Foresters waited until their final at bat to notch the come-from-behind W. After scoring just one run in the fifth on Nick Davitt’s RBI-groundout, HU was on the wrong end of a 5-1 difference after six to set up the dramatic finish.

Adrian Perez started things off in the seventh in convincing fashion by sending his first pitch over the left field fence. Back-to-back singles set the stage for back-to-back walks as the Foresters pulled within two runs at 5-3. Roser stepped up the plate with two outs and didn’t disappoint. Hitting clean-up, the veteran doubled down the right-field line to drive in a pair of runs to knot things up at 5-5.

Next up was Ian McCutheon who didn’t let his youth get the best of him. The freshman second baseman roped a shot down the opposite line for another two runs and a lead that proved permanent as Brent Turner picked up the save in relief.

Alex McCutcheon spent the first six frames on the mound where he gave up seven hits, five runs, four of which were earned, and four walks while striking out two to claim HU’s first win of the year.

In the nightcap, the Foresters were staring at a 4-1 deficit heading into the sixth. HU’s lone run up to that point came in the top of the fifth when Daniel Lichty, with two outs and bases loaded, drew his team’s fourth free pass of the inning to walk in a run.

Leading up to the sixth, Huntington had managed just three hits but their bats heated up after that as they strung together four base pokes and in the process drew four more base on balls to the tune of six runs. HU’s first three runs came by way of three straight walks with bases loaded. Lichty then drove run No. 5 on an infield single after which Adam Roser came up big once again – this time by way of a two-run single to right for what proved the game-winning hit.

Mason Shinabery collected the win in the circle by giving up five hits, four runs, three of which were earned, and a walk while striking out seven in six innings of work. Joey Butz tossed a hitless seventh for the save.

The Foresters wrapped up the weekend with a 2-0 win over Concordia. DJ Moore pitched a gem for the shutout. The right-handed hurler surrendered just one hit and five walks while striking out eight in six innings of work after which Caleb Landrum, after sitting out last year, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for the save.

Hitting was at a premium as both teams combined for just four hits. Huntington scored in their first at bat when Lichty drove in Donovan Clark, who walked and then made his way to third by way of steals, on a fielder’s choice. Fast forward to the fourth. Roser added an insurance run with an RBI-double. Roser finished the weekend with five hits and five RBI to pace the Foresters offensively.

The Foresters (3-0), off to their best start in over a decade, head to Kentucky next weekend to play Brescia and IU South Bend.