BASEBALL

The HU baseball team took two on the chin against Marian (12-11, 8-4) Monday afternoon at Forest Glen. After suffering a 13-3 loss in eight, the Foresters came up short in the nightcap by way of a 2-1 decision. With these two wins, the Knights owned the four-game series 3-1.

MU made quick work of the Foresters in game one. After Cam Clarkson kicked off the day’s scoring with a blast into right center for an RBI-double, the guests’ bats came alive in the second to plate six runs highlighted by Zach Bale’s grand slam.

Fast forward two frames and Bale was at it again with a second dinger, this time a three-run bomb that came on the heels of another Marian run. MU scored again in the sixth. At that point, the score was 12-2 with the Knights eyeing a run-rule finish.

HU scored in the bottom of the seventh on Kade Flores’ sac fly to extend the contest to the eighth where the visitors found home again to put ten runs between the two squads. This time Coach Frame’s crew had no answer to wrap things up an inning early.

Huntington’s only other run came in the second when Parker Richards, after stealing third, scored on an errant throw.

Starting pitcher RJ Anglin took the loss. He threw the first four innings, giving up seven hits, 11 runs and four walks while striking out eight.

The nightcap was a pitcher’s duel until it wasn’t for HU. Flores was the only Forester to round the bases. He singled up the middle to kick off the third, stole second, advanced to third on an error and then trotted home on Deklan Thompson’s sacrifice fly. Flores collected two of his team’s three hits in the contest with Cam Clarkson accounting for the only other base poke.

Tyler Papenbrock gave up two hits and a walk in the first but then went into lockdown mode for the next five frames. He held the Knights hitless the rest of the evening but unfortunately the visitors still found a way to plate two runs in the top of the seventh for the come-from-behind win.

Marian loaded the bases with a pair of walks sandwiching a hit batter. Papenbrock proceeded to work his eighth strikeout before handing out another free pass that evened things up at 1-1. The Knights took advantage of a pitching change to draw another walk, their fourth of the inning, for what proved the game-winning run.

Papenbrock was charged with the loss having given up two hits, two runs and five walks while sitting down eight on strikes.

With today’s losses, Huntington drops to 8-14 on the year, 3-9 in conference play. Next up is a four-game home stand against Bethel starting on Friday.