CONWAY, Arkansas – Behind a gutsy start by junior lefthander
Christian Thames and some late-inning heroics, HBU came from behind to down Central Arkansas, 3-2 in 10 innings, in the Southland Conference baseball series finale Saturday afternoon at Bear Stadium.
Thames (1-3) threw 119 pitches in earning his first victory as a Husky, allowing two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks in nine innings. Redshirt freshman
Zach Carter pitched a perfect 10
th to earn his first career save and snap HBU's seven-game losing streak.
Junior centerfielder
Zane Otten went 2-for-4 for HBU (11-13, 3-3 SLC), while sophomore first baseman
Carey Jones doubled and drove in a run. Junior third baseman
Austin Zillweger and senior shortstop
Louie Payetta each had RBI singles, while junior rightfielder
Brandon Brintz had a double and scored run and senior designated hitter
Austin Saenz singled and scored.
UCA starter Riley Echols did not factor into the decision after holding HBU to one run on three hits with four strikeouts and four walks in eight innings. Jacob Murray gave up the tying run in the ninth on a pair of hits, then Chris Durham (2-2) took the loss, giving up the go-ahead run on three hits in the 10
th.
Tyler Langley homered and drove in a pair for the Bears (11-11, 5-4), while Matt Anderson went 2-for-4.
Otten led off the 10
th with a single to left, then senior leftfielder
Brandon Morones reached on a bunt single. Otten was forced out at third on a bunt attempt by senior second baseman
Greg Espinosa, then freshman
Kendrick Holmes pinch ran for Morones at second. Payetta delivered a single to center and Holmes scored easily to put the Huskies ahead.
Trailing 2-1 going to the top of the ninth, Brintz led off with a double to rightcenter off Murray. After Saenz struck out, Jones ripped a double to left to bring Brintz home with the tying run.
The Bears had taken the lead in the fifth when Michael Haun reached on a two-out walk and Langley blasted a home run to left, his third of the season.
HBU broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth when Saenz came through with a two-out single to left. Saenz advanced to second on a wild pitch, then Zillweger smacked an RBI single up the middle to give the Huskies the lead.
The Huskies completed an 11-game road stretch and will return for a four-game homestand beginning with Prairie View A&M Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Husky Field. The Legacy Sports Network audio broadcast with
Russ Reneau, as well as the HBU Live video stream, begins at 1:45 with the pregame show and can be accessed on HBUHuskies.com.
