BASEBALL

The Forester baseball team made the short trip to Fort Wayne Thursday afternoon for a neighborly conference brawl with Saint Francis at Cougar Field where they dropped both games of the twin bill, 7-4, 9-3.

Zach Pelletier got his team off to a great start with a three-run bomb in the top of the first. The Cougars got one back with a dinger of their own, a solo shot by Kasen Oribello, in the home half of the inning for a 3-1 difference.

Aside from Deklan Thompson’s RBI-double in the fourth, HU’s offense sputtered while USF kept things rolling at the plate. The hosts collected a pair of runs in the third, fourth and sixth frames to jet in front 7-4 heading into the final two innings where they were able to sustain their lead. Both teams left eight batters stranded in the contest.

The Foresters finished with six hits to Saint Francis’ seven. Pelletier and Kade Flores each picked up two base pokes. RJ Anglin was charged with the loss having tossed the first 3.2 innings where he gave up four hits, five runs and six walks while striking out three.

The Cougars raced out to a 7-0 advantage after the first three frames of the nightcap to cruise to win number two. HU’s three runs came in the last three innings with Beldon Glasgow driving in two of them, the first on a triple down the right field line in the fifth and the second on a single to the same side of the field in the seventh. The guests also found home on an error in the fifth.

In addition to Glasgow’s pair of hits, Flores also finished with two base pokes.

Graham Kollen was assessed the loss having spent the first three innings on the bump. He gave up seven hits, seven runs, two of which were unearned, and two walks while striking out two.

With these losses, Huntington drops to 11-17 overall which includes a 6-12 league record. The Foresters will head back to Fort Wayne on Saturday for another doubleheader with USF.