HOUSTON – HBU scored nine runs over the first four innings and that is all the Huskies would need to cruise to a 9-4 victory over Abilene Christian in the second game of the Southland Conference series Friday afternoon at Husky Field.
Junior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran went 3-for-5 and scored a run, while senior third baseman
Austin Zillweger went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run for the Huskies (16-15, 8-6 SLC). Junior first baseman
Jake Pulcheon had a two-run home run and junior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson doubled to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, driving in a run and scoring one. Senior catcher
Blake Thomas doubled and scored twice.
Senior lefthander
Christian Thames (5-1) threw 120 pitches, allowing four runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and no walks in 8.0 innings. Sophomore righthander
Zach Carter pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one.
Russell Crippen went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, drove in a run and scored once, while Lane Bourland went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for the Wildcats (9-22, 1-16). Luis Trevino went 2-for-4 and scored for ACU.
Starter Keaton Brewer (0-2) took the loss for ACU, giving up five runs, three earned, on three hits with a strikeout, three walks and a hit batter in 1.0 inning. Drew Hanson allowed four runs, two earned, on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks in 3.0 innings, but Cyle Watkins and Collin Dudley combined to shut out HBU over the final four innings.
HBU took the early lead when senior righfielder
Brandon Brintz walked, Halloran singled and Pulcheon walked to load the bases. Depreta-Johnson hit a slow roller to short, but ACU was only able to get a force out at second as the Huskies took a 1-0 lead.
ACU answered with three runs in the second when Trevino led off with an infield single and Crippen was hit by a pitch. Anthony Dominguez moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt, then Myles Paschall and Bourland came through with back-to-back RBI singles. The Wildcats took a 3-1 lead on Dalon Farkas' RBI single to right.
The Huskies responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning, as Zillweger and Thomas led off with back-to-back doubles. Junior second baseman
Jack Fitzgerald walked to load the bases and senior centerfielder
Zane Otten was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Thomas scored on a passed ball to tie the game, Brintz lifted a sacrifice fly to right to give HBU the lead, then a throwing error allowed Otten to score to give the Huskies a 5-3 advantage.
Depreta-Johnson led off the third with a double, then scored when Thomas reached on an error and was able to advance to second. Fitzgerald delivered an RBI single up the middle to make the score 7-3.
Halloran singled in the fourth, then Pulcheon blasted a two-run home run to left, the first of his HBU career, to stake Thames to a 9-3 lead.
Aaron Draper singled and scored on Crippen's RBI double down the leftfield line in the fifth for the game's final tally.
The series concludes Saturday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The video and audio broadcasts with
Russ Reneau begin with the pregame show at 12:45 p.m. and will be available on HBUHuskies.com.
