SAN ANTONIO – HBU pounded out 17 hits to cruise to a 6-3 victory over Incarnate Word, despite leaving 12 runners on base, in the Southland Conference baseball series opener Friday night at Sullivan Field.
Senior third baseman
Curtis Jones went 4-for-5 with a triple and an RBI for the Huskies (14-11, 5-2 SLC), who have won five-straight games and four straight in league play. Junior first
Andrew Alvarez went 3-for-5 with an RBI for his first three-hit game as a Husky. Junior shortstop
Louie Payetta was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, junior second baseman
Greg Espinosa was 2-for-5 with a run and freshman designated hitter
Zac Garcia was 2-for-54 with a double.
Senior righthander
Taylor Wright (5-2) allowed one run, which was unearned, on five hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks in five and two-thirds innings to grab the win for HBU. Junior
Matt Harding pitched two and one-third innings of scoreless relief, striking out four.
Christian Divelbiss went 2-for-4, while Jesse Hoover drove in a pair for UIW (9-15, 1-6).
The Cardinals used five pitchers, with starter Geno Encina (1-1) taking the loss by giving up three runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in four innings.
The first five batters of the fourth inning each singled for the Huskies, with Payetta leading off, followed by Jones, senior catcher
Samm Wiggins, junior leftfielder
Brandon Morones and Alvarez. Wiggins and Alvarez drove in HBU's first two runs, then senior rightfielder
Thomas Clay beat out a bases loaded, two-out infield single to put the Huskies up, 3-0.
UIW answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Ethan McGill drew a one-out walk and Divelbiss singled. Brance Kahle hit a chopper back to Wright, which should have resulted in an inning-ending double play, but Espinosa bobbled the ball, loading the bases. Colton Besett lifted a sacrifice fly into foul territory beyond the leftfield line, but that was all the Cardinals could muster.
In the sixth, Espinosa singled and scored on an error in the outfield after Garcia singled. The Huskies added two more in the eighth on RBI singles by Payetta and Jones' triple down the rightfield line.
Junior
Dylan Zarosky walked Blake Woosley, then Mark Whitehead singled and stole second. Hoover drove them both in with a single up the middle for the final margin.
The series continues with a 3 p.m. first pitch Saturday, followed by the finale Sunday at 1 p.m. The broadcast for each game begins 15 minutes prior to the first pitch on HBUHuskies.com.
