BASEBALL

The Huntington baseball team notched a pair of road victories Friday afternoon at J. Harold “Sarge” Yoder Baseball Field, shutting out Goshen 11-0 in the opener and cruising to a 7-1 win in the nightcap.

Senior lefty Tyler Papenbrock was dominant in game one, tossing a complete-game two-hit shutout. He struck out 11 and walked just one, needing only 94 pitches to secure the victory. He spent just seven innings on the bump as the game was shortened thanks to Huntington’s offensive surge.

The Foresters lit up the scoreboard, scoring in every inning except the third and tallying 13 hits. Zach Pelletier led the charge, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. His performance included a towering home run in the fourth and a pair of RBI singles in the second and fifth.

Cam Clarkson added to the offense with run-scoring hits in the first and seventh innings—a single and a two-run double. Ryne Wheeler came alive late, driving in two runs with a sixth-inning single to right, followed by another RBI knock in the seventh. Beyoncé Paco Paulina and Dylan Rost chipped in with a bases-loaded walk and an RBI single, respectively, to round out the attack that kept the Maple Leafs on their heels.

Pitching continued to shine in the second game with Grant Simmons delivering six shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and two walks while fanning six for the win. Mason Meyer came on to close, recording all three outs via strikeout, but not before surrendering a run on two hits and two walks.

Before taking the mound, Meyer made his presence felt at the plate as the designated hitter. The graduate transfer drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly and a two-run single. Bryce Deckman added fireworks with a solo homer, while Clarkson and Rost each contributed RBI-singles.

With the doubleheader sweep, Huntington takes the series 3-1 over Goshen and improves to 16-18 overall, including an 11-13 mark in Crossroads League play. The Foresters will take a brief break from conference action on Tuesday when they host Manchester for a single nine-inning game starting at 5:00 p.m.