HOUSTON – HBU and Southeastern Louisiana each took advantage of the howling wind blowing out, but still found themselves tied going into the ninth, where Huskies senior rightfielder
Brandon Brintz provided a walk-off, RBI single to claim the Southland Conference baseball series opener, 8-7, Friday afternoon at Husky Field.
SLU reliever Evan Heilman (3-2) had shut HBU down for two innings, but gave up a leadoff walk to junior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson, then senior centerfielder
Zane Otten advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Brintz followed by smacking a single to left and the throw was well offline as Depreta-Johnson slid home with the winning tally.
Otten, who extended his hitting streak to eight games, went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored twice for HBU (9-11, 1-3 SLC), while senior third baseman
Austin Zillweger went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run. Junior designated hitter
Matt Heck homered and drove in three, and junior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran singled and scored twice.
Sophomore righthander
JT Newton (2-0) earned the win, holding the Lions (14-7, 5-2 SLC) scoreless over the final 2.2 innings. Senior righthander
Addison Russ took a no-decision, giving up five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and five walks in 6.0 innings.
SLU starter Mac Sceroler gave up seven runs on six hits, striking out seven and walking three in 5.2 innings. Heilman had held HBU to no runs and one hit over his first 2.1 innings.
Drew Avans went 3-for-5 and scored a run for the Lions, while Carson Crites homered and drove in three. Derrick Mount went 2-for-5 with a home run, and Ryan Byers homered, walked twice and scored twice. Webb Bobo and Brennan Breaud each tripled and scored a run.
The Huskies got to Sceroler early with three runs in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and no outs, junior first baseman
Jake Pulcheon came through with a two-run single to rightcenter and Zillweger followed with a sacrifice fly to left.
Otten tripled with two outs in the second, then scored on a wild pitch to give the Huskies a 4-0 lead.
SLU got on the board in the second on back-to-back triples by Bobo and Breaud, then Breaud scored on a passed ball to cut HBU's lead in half.
Mount led off the fourth with a home run, his second of the season, then Byers led off the fifth with a solo shot, his third of the year, to make the score 5-4.
Zillweger was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth, then Heck followed with a mammoth blast over the batter's eye in straight-away center, his first HBU home run, to put the Huskies back ahead by three, 7-4.
Byers walked to leadoff the seventh and Russ was lifted for sophomore righthander
Daniel Endsley. Avans singled to right, then Crites hit a three-run home run to left, his third of the season, to tie the game, 7-7. The Lions loaded the bases in the inning, but Newton struck out Breaud to end the inning.
SLU threatened in the eighth, but a failed doubled steal ended the inning with second baseman
Jack Fitzgerald nailing Byers at the plate. Newton retired the Lions in order in the ninth to set up the Huskies' walk-off victory.
The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. first pitch, followed by the finale Sunday at 2 p.m. There will be a memorial service Saturday at 9 a.m. at Husky Field, weather permitting, to honor former HBU pitcher Jordan Hook (2006-08), who passed away last week at the age of 32.
