Box Score

OREM, Utah – Fifth-seeded Houston Baptist pounded out 16 hits, only one more than fourth-seeded Northern Colorado, but the Huskies capitalized on their opportunities and four errors by the Bears to cruise to a 10-3 victory in the first round of the Great West Conference Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Brent Brown Ballpark.
 
Senior shortstop Collin Hetzler went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while senior rightfielder Kolby Arnst went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run for the Huskies (25-31). Junior second baseman Josh Foust moved up to the leadoff spot and went 2-for-5, was hit by a pitch, doubled, scored twice and drove in a run. Senior catcher Asai Adame went 2-for-5, drove in two runs and scored, while senior leftfielder David Pfuntner went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
 
Colby Harrison went 2-for-5, homered and drove in two runs, while Ryan Yamane went 2-for-5 with a  double and a run for the Bears (25-32). Adam Hilker went 2-for-5, Tony Crudo went 2-for-5 with a double and Eric Ferguson went 2-for-4 with a double.
 
Senior righthander Dalton Schafer (5-8) earned the win for HBU, allowing three runs on 15 hits in 6.1 innings. Senior Michael Schulle pitched 1.2 innings of perfect relief, while freshman Ross Kennell pitched a perfect ninth, throwing seven pitches, which were all strikes. Starter Joe Willman (5-7) took the loss for Northern Colorado, giving up five runs, only one earned, on six hits in just one innings. Chris Hammer allowed three runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of relief for the Bears.
 
The Huskies wasted no time getting on the board, as they batted around in the top in the first. Foust reached on a fielding error and took second on a throwing error. Hetzler reached safely on a bunt single that held Foust at second, but Arnst followed with a bunt and Foust beat the throw to third to load the bases. Junior centerfielder Jake Gonzalez drove in a run by reaching on a fielder's choice that retired Arnst at second. Freshman designated hitter Samm Wiggins lifted a ball down the right field line for a single but the runners in front of him were held up and he was thrown out scurrying back to first. However, Adame followed with a two-run single up the middle. Sophomore first baseman Bradley Brown singled to put runners on the corners and Pfuntner drove in a run with a single through the right side to put HBU ahead, 5-0.
 
The Bears got a run back in the bottom of the inning as Harrison smacked a two-out, opposite-field solo home run to leftcenter, and they left a pair of runners on after Schafer walked a batter and hit one.
 
Yamane led off the bottom of the third with a doubled to deep center field, then Hilker and Harrison followed with singles to make the score, 5-2. Coy singled to load the bases, but Schenck hit a grounder to short and Coy was called for interference, so both Hilker and Harrison had to return to their original bases, and Crudo struck out to end the threat.
 
With one out in the sixth, Pfuntner beat out an infield single, then Foust and Hetzler hit back-to-back doubles to plate a run. Arnst followed with a two-run single up the middle, past a drawn in infield. Gonzalez reached on an error, then freshman third baseman Curtis Jones blooped a ball down the rightfield line that fell fair, but Gonzalez was forced out at second because he had to hold up on the popup. Arnst was able to cross the plate though to extend the Huskies' lead to 9-2.
 
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Schenk reached on an infield single as a bad hop caught Jones in the chin, but he stayed in the game. Crudo doubled off the wall in left, and Park blooped a single to left to cut HBU's lead to 9-3 and chase Schafer from the game, but Schulle got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.
 
Brown reached on an error with one out in the ninth, advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball. After Pfuntner walked, Foust beat out a potential double play grounder to give the Huskies a 10-3 lead.
 
HBU will face top-seeded and host Utah Valley Wednesday at 8 p.m. CDT. The Wolverines defeated eighth-seeded New York Institute of Technology, 17-10. In the other games, sixth-seeded North Dakota upset third-seeded New Jersey Institute of Technology, 1-0, and second-seeded Texas-Pan American downed seventh-seeded Chicago State, 10-4.

For complete coverage of the tournament, click on the Tournament Central link.