BASEBALL

Fans at Forest Glen got to witness one of the most epic comebacks in program history Thursday afternoon in a conference showdown against Mount Vernon. Down 13-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the HU baseball team roared back for a 14-13 win in the opener before breezing to an 11-0 victory in the nightcap.

With a football-like final score in game one, there’s little doubt that both teams had a heyday at the plate. While the hit count favored MVNU, 17-10, Huntington was much more efficient with their opportunities. Frame’s crew was paced by Satchell Wilson and Jarret Gray, who combined to drive in seven of their team’s 14 runs.

The sixth fueled HU’s otherworldly comeback. While plating six runs in an inning is noteworthy, what’s even more impressive is doing so with two outs stacked against you. With two outs and one on, Tyler Jakob kicked things off by delivering an RBI-single after which Langston Ginder and Matt Wolff each walked to set the stage for arguably the game’s most pivotal at-bat.

On an 0-1 count, Gray cranked one over the right field fence for a sacred moment in time – a rare grand slam. His four-bagger pulled the Foresters within four at 13-9 and by the end of the inning, thanks to a MVNU error a few plays later, it was a 13-10 ballgame.

It was the Wilson show after that as he blistered a ball over the left field fence for a two-run dinger in the seventh. A few batters later, Ginder tied things up after singling his way on base after which he stole second and then crossed the plate on a pair of wild pitches. Wilson put the finishing touch on the heroic finish with an RBI-double in the eighth to give his team its first, and lasting, lead.

Pitching was by committee for HU with Adam Oxley, the fourth Forester to take a turn on the mound, nabbing the win. He spent the final 2.2 innings on the bump where he gave up a hit and walk while striking out three.

The nightcap was much less nerve-racking. After four innings of scoreless baseball, the Foresters got to work in the fifth. Jakob’s fielder’s choice knocked in HU’s first run after which Wilson was at it again. This time he clocked a shot into left center for an RBI-double and then came around to score, along with Jakob, on Ian McCutcheon’s two-run single.

The Foresters weren’t satisfied with their 4-0 lead so in their next at-bat, they piled on another seven runs for good measure with Wilson once again leading the charge. He added a three-run dinger to his highlight reel. Wolff was a copycat as he also sent one long with two on for the inning’s second three-run bomb.

When all was said, Wilson finished with three hits, a single short of hitting for the cycle, and four RBI. The fifth-year senior was a one-man wrecking ball throughout the four-game series with MVNU. He finished 9-for-15 at the plate which included three doubles, a triple and three homers. He also scored seven times and drove in eight runs over the last two days.

McCutcheon posted two hits and just as many RBI in the final game today while Sebastian Kuhns added two hits, one an RBI-single.

While Huntington’s offense was on display, so was Graham Kollen. The sophomore pitcher was nails. He went the distance to surrender just three hits while striking out ten for the complete-game shutout. It’s his second straight shutout as he boasted an 18-0 win over Saint Francis on March 11.

After the two teams split yesterday, today’s two wins tipped the series in favor of Huntington 3-1. HU (16-7, 10-2) is now off until the Bethel series on March 24-25.