BASEBALL

After a slow start Friday afternoon, the Forester baseball team dropped a 2-1 decision to visiting Grace College (14-22, 7-18), but bounced back with a dominant 15-6 win in game two of the doubleheader at Forest Glen.

Despite a strong effort on the mound in the opener, senior lefty Tyler Papenbrock was tagged with the loss. He gave up a run in the first and a solo homer in the eighth, striking out eight over 8.1 innings.

Grace tallied six hits to Huntington’s four, with Cam Clarkson providing HU’s only run on a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. His blast gave the Foresters a glimmer of late-game hope, but Lancer closer Hunter Schumacher shut the door with a strikeout and a groundout to earn the save.

HU flipped the script in game two, exploding for 17 hits, eight for extra bases. Down 3-1, the Foresters erupted for seven runs in the third to seize control at 8-3.

The big inning featured three run-scoring doubles, highlighted by Deklan Thompson’s bases-clearing two-bagger. Clarkson and Grace transfer Mason Meyer also delivered RBI-doubles, while Bryce Deckman and Braden Kauffman added RBI-singles to fuel the outburst.

Thompson stayed hot with another RBI-double in the fifth, finishing 4-for-5 with four RBI from the leadoff spot. Beldon Glasgow made his mark with a run-scoring double in the second and a two-run homer in the sixth, going 3-for-4 with three RBI.

Clarkson and Kauffman each added another RBI-hit in the sixth, and Jace Fowler, in his debut as a Forester, found a gap in right in the fifth for an RBI-single to join the offensive surge. The Indiana State transfer ended up 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Graham Kollen picked up the win, tossing six innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed six hits, four runs (three earned), and issued five walks.

With the split, HU moves to 17-20 overall and 12-14 in Crossroads League play. The two teams return to Forest Glen tomorrow for another doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.