BASEBALL

The Huntington baseball team opened up their series at Saint Francis by splitting with the Cougars Monday afternoon at Cougar Field. The Foresters won the opener 4-3 before conceding a 7-5 loss to USF in the nightcap.

Tyler Papenbrock pitched seven of nine innings of game one to lead HU to the win. It was three up, three down for three of the first five frames for the junior southpaw on his way to scattering six hits and giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, and three walks while striking out nine. After Carter Walker tossed a 1-2-3 inning in relief, so did Noah Arbuckle to earn the save.

Offensively, Frame’s crew did most of their work in the fourth. Bryce Deckman worked a walk with bases loaded to plate the game’s first run after which Kade Flores came up with a clutch two-out, two-run double to give HU a 3-0 lead.

USF got one back in the bottom of the fourth before Flores was back at it with another RBI-double in the sixth for what proved the game-winner. The Cougars matched that run in their at bat and then added another in the seventh before the HU pitching staff slammed the door shut on their hosts’ offense.

Flores finished with two of his team’s five hits, driving in all but one of Huntington’s runs.

The nightcap saw Jordan Malott get his team off to a fast start with a big blast in the first with a runner on for a 2-0 lead from the get-go. It’s the sophomore first baseman’s third homer of the season, the 13th of his young career.

The Cougars’ response was swift. The hosts found home four times in their half of the first to take a lead they never relented. Huntington kept things interesting with two more homers, one in the third by Gregory Nolasco Berroa and another by Dylan Rost in the fourth.

But USF remained in control thanks to a trio of runs in the bottom of the third that allowed them to keep their guests at an arm’s length despite HU’s dingers and a push in the ninth that saw Owen Imel score on a wild pitch.

Graham Kollen was charged with the loss having tossed the first 4.1 innings where he gave up six hits, seven runs and a walk while striking out three.

The Foresters (8-8, 4-2) are back in action on Monday to finish their series with the Cougars.