HOUSTON – Senior outfielder
Matt Heck rocked a two-run, walk-off home run – one of six on the day for HBU – for a 4-3 victory over Nicholls to complete the Huskies' sweep of the Colonels after a 13-4 rout in game one Saturday afternoon at Husky Field.
Heck (3-0) made himself the winning pitcher in game two, as he recorded the final out in the top of the ninth, after Nicholls (6-14, 2-4 SLC) loaded the bases. Starter
Brady Batten allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in seven innings, while senior
Weston Smart tossed 1.2 scoreless innings.
Senior outfielder/third baseman
Spencer Halloran and junior outfielder
Anthony Jones also homered for the Huskies (8-12, 2-1 SLC).
Cayden Hatcher (0-2) went the distance for the Colonels, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 8.2 innings.
Gage Teer went 2-for-2, drove in a run and scored, while Kyle Knauth went 2-for-5 with a double and scored for Nicholls.
The Colonels scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second as Knauth led off with a double and Teer walked. Dane Simon laid down a sacrifice bunt, but reached when sophomore third baseman
Elijah Simon's off-balanced throw skipped past first, allowing Knauth to score. Landon Powell's sacrifice fly staked Nicholls to a 2-0 lead.
Halloran cut the deficit in half by ripping a solo shot to left, his team-leading fourth of the season, to lead off the fourth.
Chet Niehaus walked to lead off the sixth, went to third on a single by Knauth, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Teer for a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jones delivered a pinch-hit, solo shot to leftcenter to get the Huskies back within one.
Smart walked Powell to lead off the ninth and got two outs before walking Joey Morales. Junior lefty
Taylor Franzman came in and walked Niehaus to load the bases, but Heck got Knauth to ground out to end the threat.
With two out and no one on base, junior
Tyler Clark came through with a pinch-hit single to right, then Heck blasted the first pitch he saw deep to left for the win.
In game one, Halloran went 3-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs and scored twice, while senior first baseman
Carey Jones went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and scored three times for HBU. Senior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson homered, drove in two and scored twice, junior second baseman
Derek Reilly went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and scored and Simon went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and scored twice.
Senior lefthander
Matthew McCollough (1-1) earned the win, allowing four runs, only one earned, on nine hits with a career-high 11 strikeouts and no walks in eighth innings. Senior righthander
Cameron Copeland pitched a perfect ninth, including a pair of punchouts.
Niehaus went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and scored, while Morales went 2-for-4 and scored for Nicholls. Teer went 2-for-4, doubled and scored.
Jake Bedevian (0-4) allowed 10 runs, nine earned, on 10 hits with a strikeout and four walks in 5.1 innings for the Colonels.
Nicholls scored on Knauth's RBI single in the first, but HBU answered on Halloran's opposite-field, solo shot in the bottom half of the inning.
The Huskies erupted for four runs in the second when junior centerfielder
Jonathan Ducoff singled and scored on an error on a failed pickoff attempt,
Carey Jones smashed an RBI double down the leftfield line, then Depreta-Johnson blasted a two-run homer to left.
Niehaus added an RBI single in the third and Simon's bunt single plated a run in the fourth to cut HBU's lead to 5-3.
The Huskies came back with three in the bottom half on Simon's two-run double to center and Halloran's RBI single to extend the lead to 8-3.
Halloran then put the game out of reach in the sixth with a monster three-run homer to left for an 11-4 advantage. Reilly capped the scoring with a two-run double in the seventh.
The Huskies return to action when they host Texas Southern Tuesday at noon at Husky Field. The Husky Sports Network video broadcast with
Russ Reneau begins at 11:50 a.m. and is available on HBUHuskies.com.
