BASEBALL

The 4th-seeded Forester baseball team’s deep run into the Crossroads League Tournament continued Tuesday night with a 6-4 win over Mount Vernon in an elimination game at Taylor’s Winterholter Field.

The loss knocks the top-seeded Cougars out of the tourney while HU (27-22) advances to the championship game against 2nd-seeded Taylor.

It’ll be the second meeting between the two squads within a 24-hour period as TU topped Huntington 11-8 in the winner’s bracket earlier in the day. Since Taylor remains undefeated, the Foresters will need to snag back-to-back wins to capture the tournament title.

Against MVNU, Grant Simmons pitched a gem to pick up his second win of the year. The rookie hurler toed the rubber in the second and tossed 6.1 innings of scoreless relief, scattering just three hits and two walks while striking out four.

Graham Kollen then retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save.

Offensively, the Foresters leaned heavily on the long ball with Langston Ginder getting things started with a two-run blast in the first after which Matt Wolff also sent one long two batters later. Daniel Lichty got in on the action in the seventh by belting one over the right field fence for what proved an insurance run.

The fourth was HU’s go ahead inning. After Jarret Gray and Owen Young singled their way on base, Sam Kimmorley knocked in Gray with a double down the right field line to knot things up at 4-4. Two batters later, Lichty’s sacrifice fly allowed Young to tag up for what proved the game-winner.

In the first game against Taylor, it was a 5-5 ballgame after six that included two deadlocks and the lead pinging back and forth three times before the hosts went off for six runs over the finally three frames to surge ahead 11-5. While Huntington pieced together a valiant ninth inning rally to get three back, it wasn’t enough for a heroic finish.

Just like their outing against Mount Vernon, the Foresters brought big sticks to their brawl with Taylor. Ginder sent two deep against TU which included opening up the game’s scoring with a two-run rocket for a 2-0 advantage after one inning of play. He bookended the game with another dinger – a solo shot in the ninth.

Ian McCutcheon launched one out of the park in the ninth as well, his a two-run shot to left. Daniel Lichty also brought a big bat to the contest with a rocket over the right field fence in the second for his sixth homer of the season. When all was said and done, HU went yard for seven of their eight runs with the other run coming by way of an RBI-single by Lichty in the fourth.

Five different Foresters spent time on the mound with Max Meisner being tagged with the loss having given up a hit, two runs and a walk while striking out one in an inning of work.

Opening pitching against Taylor on Wednesday is slated for 3:00 p.m. with the second game, if necessary, scheduled for 6:00 p.m.