BASEBALL

It was opening weekend of league play and in true Crossroads League fashion, the brawl between the HU baseball team and Marian ended in split with the Foresters winning the opener on Friday, 8-1, and again on Saturday, 10-3, while the Knights (8-8, 2-2) took control of both nightcaps, 4-2, 9-3.

With this split, Huntington moves to 9-2 on the year which includes a 2-2 CL record.

In Friday’s opener, five of HU’s eight runs came by way of the long ball. Camden Dice launched the first one over the right field wall in the second. Daniel Lichty left little doubt that his two-run blast was also clearing the right field fence in the fifth after which Jarrett Gray roped a shot to that same spot in the eighth to account for the final two runs of the contest.

HU collected 14 hits with Alex McCutcheon going 3-for-5 from the plate. Four other Foresters posted two hits each including Owen Young and Dice who also tallied an RBI. Lichty knocked in three runs while Gray added two RBI.

Mason Shinabery continued his tear on the mound to remain perfect on the year at 3-0. The senior hurler threw the first seven innings during which he gave up four hits and one run while fanning six. Brent Turner put the finishing touches on the day by tossing two frames of scoreless relief.

The nightcap had a completely different feel with the Knights mounting a come-from-behind 4-2 win. While Huntington’s bats were quiet most of the night, Frame’s crew still managed a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth. Unfortunately, all that changed with one mighty swing of the bat. With two on, Dion Wintjes launched one out of the park to catapult his team on top 4-2. It proved lasting as HU loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but left all three stranded to make for a foiled counter-attack.

Alex McCutcheon was charged with the loss. In six innings of work, the leftie surrendered five hits, four runs and two walks while striking out ten.

The Foresters got back on track offensively in Saturday’s opener by matching yesterday’s season-high 14 hits. After opening a 1-0 lead after three, HU broke the game open in the fourth. With two outs and a runner on first, the Foresters got a huge break when Noah Comstock reached base on a dropped third strike to keep their rally alive.

Langston Ginder worked a walk to load the bases after which Ian McCutcheon doubled in all three. Daniel Litchy smacked one off the right field wall to knock in McCutcheon and then came around to score on Huntington’s third consecutive double, this one off the bat of Satchell Wilson. It was a five-run at bat for the hosts.

HU would go on to outscore their guests 4-2 the rest of the way to make for the 10-3 disparity by game’s end.

Wilson finished with four hits and two RBI. Lichty added three hits and just as many RBI while Ian McCutcheon tallied two base pokes, three RBI and scored four times.

Dice spent the first 6.1 innings on the bump where he allowed 11 hits, three runs and a walk while striking out seven to register the win.

The final game of the series saw the Knights erupt for six runs, including a grand slam, in the top of the seventh to turn a 3-3 deadlock into a lopsided affair. Not only did they have the final say, they also got on the board first in the third by finding home three times.

Frame’s squad scratched and clawed their way back in it, scoring a run in their half of the third on a Ginder RBI-double. The junior transfer knocked in another in the fifth with a base poke to right while a little small ball in the fourth landed the Foresters another run.

When all the dust settled, MU posted three dingers, sifted through four HU pitchers and outhit their hosts 11-4. Gabe Freeman took the loss for Huntington. In 1.1 innings on the mound, the right-handed hurler allowed three hits, five runs and three walks while striking out one.

The Foresters are off until the weekend when they clash with Grace. The four-game series, hosted by the Lancers, will either be played at Logansport High School or Forest Glen.