HOUSTON – HBU senior lefthander
Christian Thames went the distance in shutting out Southeastern Louisiana, as the Huskies' clinched the Southland Conference series with a 4-0 victory Saturday afternoon at Husky Field.
Thames (3-1) threw 108 pitches, scattering four hits, striking out five and walking three. The Old River Winfree, Texas, native tossed his fourth career complete game and the first shutout for HBU since
Zach Carter and
Dylan Zarosky combined to blank Incarnate Word, 2-0, on April 3, 2016.
Senior rightfielder
Brandon Brintz went 2-for-4 with a home run, while junior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran also went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Huskies (9-11, 2-3 SLC). Senior centerfielder
Zane Otten singled and drove in a run, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Junior first baseman
Carey Jones doubled and scored, while junior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson tripled, drove in a run and scored.
Corey Gaconi (2-1) took the loss for SLU (14-8, 5-3), allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts in 7.0 innings. Payton Robinson allowed one run on three hits in one inning of relief.
Taylor Schwaner recorded two of the Lions' four hits, while Drew Avans and Brennan Breaud had the others, all of which were singles.
Brintz got the Huskies on the board in the first, blasting a solo shot to right, his first of the season and third of his career.
Jones led off the fifth with a double to leftcenter, then scored on a triple to rightcenter by Depreta-Johnson. Otten singled up the middle, past a drawn-in infield to push HBU's lead to 3-0.
The Huskies tacked on another run in the eighth, with Brintz leading off with a bunt single and Halloran following with a hit-and-run single to right to put runners on the corners with no outs. Junior catcher
Jake Pulcheon tried to squeeze a run home, but Brintz was thrown out on a controversial play at the plate. Senior third baseman
Austin Zillweger then delivered an RBI single to right for the final tally.
The series concludes with the finale Sunday at 2 p.m. The video and Legacy Sports Network audio broadcasts with
Russ Reneau begin with the pregame show at 1:45 p.m. and are available on HBUHuskies.com.
