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HOUSTON – HBU junior rightfielder Thomas Clay made a sliding catch with the bases loaded to end the top of the 12^th inning, singled in the bottom half of the inning, then scored all the way from second when junior third baseman Curtis Jones beat out a potential inning-ending double play for a 6-5 Huskies victory over Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference series opener Thursday afternoon at Husky Field.
 
Clay extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his base hit in the 12^th. Senior leftfielder Jordan McCoy went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Jones went 2-for-6 with an RBI and a run for the Huskies (23-26, 12-16 SLC).
 
Junior Josh Martinez (2-0) picked up the win for HBU, holding SFA scoreless with two hits over the final two innings. Junior starter Taylor Wright allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits in seven innings for his fifth quality start in conference play.
 
Brett Thornell went 3-for-4, was hit by a pitch, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice, while Zach Marberry went 3-for-5 with a double for the Lumberjacks (18-35, 9-19). Matthew Dickey and Nick Ramos each went 2-for-6 with a double and scored a run, while Conner Fikes went 2-for-4.
 
Justin Hunsaker (0-2) took the loss for SFA, while starter Dillon Mangham gave up four runs on seven hits in seven innings.
 
With one out in the top of the 12^th, Martinez walked Dan O'Neill, gave up a single to Marberry, then walked Kyle Thornell to load the bases. After striking out Ricardo Sanchez, Ramos hit a shallow fly to right, but Clay slid and snagged it to end the threat.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Clay singled to rightcenter, and senior shortstop CJ Jarvis was hit by a pitch. Jones hit a chopper to short, Jarvis was retired on the force at second, but Jones beat the throw to first. Clay never stopped as he rounded third and slid in just ahead of the tag for the winning run.
 
SFA took an early lead when Dickey led off the game with a double, then scored on Brett Thornell's RBI single.
 
Jarvis reached on an infield single in the fourth for the Huskies' first hit of the game, then Jones followed with a single up the middle. McCoy and Martinez delivered back-to-back RBI singles to put HBU ahead, 2-1.
 
The Lumberjacks answered in the fifth, when Ramos led off with a double and scored on an RBI groundout by Will Vest to tie the game. SFA took the lead in the sixth as Brett Thornell was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored on a throwing error to give the Lumberjacks a 3-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the frame, Jarvis was hit by a pitch to lead off, then Jones singled. Junior catcher Samm Wiggins' bunt was fielded by the pitcher and Jarvis was thrown out, but not before Jones was able to reach third. Wiggins moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, then McCoy smacked a two-run single center to put HBU back on top, 4-3.
 
Brett Thornell and Mackenzie Handel led off the eighth with back-to-back singles, moved up on a passed ball, then Thornell scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. SFA took the lead in the top of the ninth when Fikes singled, Dickey reached on a bunt single, then Brett Thornell singled in the go-ahead run.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, junior centerfielder Zach Nehrir led off with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, then senior first baseman Bradley Brown tied the game with an RBI single to left.
 
SFA had a chance to take the lead in the 10^th when Handel walked and Brandon Smith came in as a pinch runner. Marberry then ripped a double into the leftfield corner, which would've scored Smith easily, but Smith fell down rounding third and was thrown out scrambling back to the bag. Marberry was stranded at second as Nehrir made a diving catch on Kyle Thornell's fly ball to deep leftcenter, and Sanchez gounded out to end the inning.
 
The series continues with a 2 p.m. first pitch Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. start Saturday.