BASEBALL

The HU baseball team added two more wins to their resume Monday afternoon at Forest Glen by topping Grace twice, the first a 6-3 decision and the second an 8-2 disparity.

The opener saw the Foresters do the majority of their damage in the first frame. HU led off with three consecutive singles to set the stage for a five-run spectacle. Jordan Malott started off the scoring with a sacrifice fly. A wild pitch led to the next run followed by another sac fly, this one at the bat of Dylan Rost. Beyonce Paco Paulina belted one down the left field line for a three-run double to make for the 5-0 difference after an inning of play.

Matt Wolff drove in Huntington’s final run with a single through the right side in the bottom of the seventh. At that point it was a 6-1 ball game. Grace kept things interesting by plating two runs in the eighth, but their rally was cut short thanks to a heads up play defensively by catcher Sebastian Kuhns who threw out a Lancer trying to steal third on a strikeout for GC’s final two outs of the frame.

Noah Arbuckle enjoyed the win on the bump. He tossed the first seven frames and gave up seven hits, three runs and three walks while striking out six. Adam Oxley threw two innings of hitless, scoreless relief to earn the save. Three of his six outs were strikeouts.

Just like game one, Huntington wasted little time taking control of the contest with their lead never really challenged. Cam Clarkson drove in a pair of runs by blistering a shot to the warning track in center field for a standup double and then came around to score on Rost’s RBI-single for a 3-0 lead after an inning of play.

Wolff picked up his second RBI of the day in the second on a sacrifice fly. Huntington got their bats going again in the third to piece together another three-run frame. Rost had an RBI-double, Kade Flores got in on the action with a run-scoring single down the right field line after which Bryce Deckman found a gap on the same side of the field that allowed Paulina, who had worked a walk a few batters earlier, to cruise home.

After drilling a double down the right field line in the third, Flores was at it again in the fourth, this time sending a zinger down the left field line for a second RBI two-bagger. He along with Clarkson and Rost each finished with two hits and two RBI. As a team, HU put up ten hits to Grace’s four.

RJ Anglin claimed the win having spent the first six innings on the mound where he surrendered just four hits, two runs and one walk while striking out eight. Reliever Matt Guilkey then needed just 15 pitches to work the final three outs.

After splitting with GC on Saturday, Huntington wrapped up the series with Grace 3-1. With two regular season series remaining, the Foresters (25-15) are sitting third in the CL standings with a league record of 19-9. Next up is a trip to #RV IWU over the weekend.