BASEBALL

After topping Saint Francis 8-6 in game one Saturday afternoon at Forest Glen, the Huntington baseball team thumped their guests 18-0 in the nightcap to wrap up the Crossroads League series between these two squads.

Although the Foresters led from start to finish in the opener, which included a 5-0 start, the Cougars went down swinging with a late-game push to keep things interesting. Down to their last two outs and facing an 8-3 deficit, the visitors loaded the bases to set up Brenden Lytle’s RBI-walk. It forced a pitching change that saw Jordan Malott make his first collegiate appearance on the bump with bases still packed.

Malott didn’t disappoint. After coaxing the first batter into a pop up, the rookie from Fort Wayne gave up a two-run single but kept his calm to sit down Jose Valedez-Sandoval, who had homered a few innings prior, with a backwards K.

In addition to picking up the save, Malott also offered his services at the plate where he recorded a pair of hits which included an RBI-single in the fourth. He was one of five Foresters to log multiple hits. Jarret Gray had two doubles, both of which drove in a pair of runs. Satchell Wilson added a pair of doubles too, one an RBI-base poke, to go along with a single for three hits. Sebastian Kuhns also finished with three hits while Ian McCutcheon struck for two.

Noah Arbuckle was awarded the win. He tossed the first six frames and gave up seven hits and three runs while striking out five.

There was plenty to brag about in the nightcap starting with Graham Kollen’s complete-game shutout. The sophomore hurler struck out nine of the 24 batters he faced while scattering four hits and issuing just one walk. He worked four 1-2-3 innings and needed just 93 pitches to get the job done. It’s the fourth time this season HU has blanked an opponent.

When the home fans weren’t gushing over Kollen’s performance,  they were watching Frame’s crew spray the ball all over Forest Glen. The 18-run difference matches HU’s largest margin of victory against Saint Francis dating back to 2000 when Huntington beat the Cougars 21-3.

The Foresters’ run riot started when Wilson blistered a three-run shot over the left field fence in the third. It was just the beginning as later in the frame Matt Wolff, Jarret Gray and Max Moser each cranked out run-scoring doubles to up the score to 7-0.

Langston Ginder got in on the fun in the fourth with a sac fly but the real party started in the fifth when Frame’s crew let loose for ten runs to blow the game wide open. Wilson continued to be a problem for the Cougars, this time by way of a two-run double, while Malott cranked one out of the park with two on to put an exclamation point on the inning.

When all was said and done, HU faced four pitchers in the fifth and came up three batters short of batting around twice. Noah Comstock and Gray each logged a two-run hit while Ginder singled in run.

HU’s 11 hits for the game included five doubles and two homers. Eight different Foresters logged at least one base knock with Wilson accounting for two to go along with five RBI and Gray tallying three hits and three RBI.

With today’s sweep, the Foresters claim the series against USF 3-1 and move to 13-6 overall, 7-1 in league play. Next up for Frame’s crew is a four-game home stand with Mount Vernon this coming weekend.