BASEBALL

Saturday’s showdown between Huntington and Saint Francis resembled football scores more than baseball scores with the Cougars posting a 21-12 win over the Foresters before the hosts handed their guests an 18-11 loss to return the favor in the nightcap.

Today’s split not only concluded the regular season but wrapped up the four-game series between these two squads with HU (31-14) claiming a 3-1 advantage over USF (33-20). Both teams finished with a 23-13 record in CL play for a share of third place in the final standings. Since Huntington holds the head-to-head advantage, they will be the third seed while the Cougars will settle for the fourth seed in the league tournament next week.

To say it was a slugfest Saturday afternoon at Forest Glen seems an understatement. Game one featured a combined 39 hits, 11 for extra bases, with USF’s leadoff hitter Alec Brunson setting the tone by sending the game’s first pitch over the center field fence. The Cougars went on to rack up six more runs in the first for an early 7-0 lead.

Daniel Lichty got his team off to the same start when he launched one over the right field wall in HU’s half of the frame. Huntington scored two more runs in the inning but couldn’t keep pace with their visitors over the long haul.

USF extended their advantage to 12-3 before the Foresters finally came to life in the fifth. HU more than batted around which included a déjà vu moment for Langston Ginder and Satchell Wilson. The pair reached base by drawing a walk and getting beaned respectively not just once but twice in the frame while Camden Dice logged a pair of run-scoring base pokes to account for two of his team’s six hits. By the time the inning was over, the gap had been reduced to a single run at 12-11.

The Cougars ripped off seven runs in their next at-bat to pad the lead on the way to cruising to the lopsided final as Huntington managed just one run the rest of the way.

Seven different Foresters spent time on the hill with starting pitcher Joey Butz taking the loss after giving up five hits, seven runs and four walks in the first frame.

Offense was by committee with Dice posting four hits and three RBI. Lichty, Ian McCutcheon, Ginder and Eli Knust also collected multiple hits for the Foresters.

Both teams carried their hot bats into the nightcap with Brent Turner making sure HU had the last say. After the Cougars raced out to an 11-3 lead, Turner made his way to the mound part way through the third to effectively shut down USF’s offense.

The Rising Sun native offered 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just four hits while striking out two the rest of the way to earn his third win of the year.

Turner’s teammates did their part at the plate to ensure the W by plating 15 runs in the second half of the contest to mount the impressive comeback.

The heart of the order accounted for 11 of HU’s 15 hits and 11 of their team’s 17 RBI. Ginder, in the three-hole, went 4-for-5 at the plate, scored four times and knocked in a run. In the clean-up spot, Wilson finished with two hits and an RBI. Dice added three hits, three RBI and scored four times while Jarett Gray racked up six RBI which included a two-run blast early in the game.

The Crossroads League Tournament kicks off Friday at Indiana Wesleyan.