ABILENE, Texas – HBU blasted seven home runs, but had to hold off a furious ninth-inning rally by Abilene Christian for a 23-20 victory in the Southland Conference series opener Friday night at Crutcher Scott Field. Winds were blowing out to left field from 25-30 miles per hour.
 
Senior leftfielder Spencer Halloran went 5-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and scored four runs, while senior rightfielder Matt Heck went 4-for-7 with a double, a home run, six RBIs and scored twice for the Huskies (15-19, 8-5 SLC). Sophomore third baseman Elijah Simon went 5-for-6 with a home run and scored four times and junior designated hitter Anthony Jones went 4-for-7, drove in a run and scored three times.
 
Senior first baseman Jake Pulcheon, junior centerfielder Jonathan Ducoff and junior Jake Scott each homered for HBU and junior second baseman Derek Reilly scored three times.
 
Junior righthander Zach Carter (2-3) picked up the win, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits with six strikeouts and no walks on 124 pitches in 6.2 innings, then three pitchers combined to allow 10 runs on nine hits over the final 2.1 innings.
 
Matt Munoz hit for the cycle for the Wildcats (16-16, 3-13), going 5-for-6, driving in four runs and scoring four times, while Caleb Kyle went 4-for-7 with a triple, a home run, an RBI and scored three times. Derek Scott went 3-for-7 with a double, an RBI and scored twice and Dalon Farkas went 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and scored twice. Koby Claborn added a pinch-hit grand slam.
 
Brock Barger (2-4) took the loss, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on 13 hits with five strikeouts and a walk in five innings. Four pitchers out of the ACU bullpen allowing 13 runs on 13 hits over the final four innings.
 
HBU batted around in the top of the second, with Halloran's three-run bomb highlighting a six-run inning that put the Huskies ahead, 7-3. Each team continued to add to the totals and HBU held a 13-10 lead after seven.
 
The Huskies batted around again in the eighth, scoring six times as Heck and senior shortstop Tyler Depreta-Johnson each delivered two-run doubles. The Wildcats answered with three, which included Munoz's two-run homer to complete the cycle and cut HBU's lead to 19-13.
 
In the ninth, Scott delivered a two-run, pinch hit home run for the first of his HBU career, then Heck added a two-run blast to center, his seventh of the year, to extend the lead to 23-13.
 
ACU mounted a comeback in the ninth, which started with Kyle's swinging bunt down the third-base line. Farkas followed with a home run, then Riley Donahue walked, before Zach Smith struck out for the second out. Seth Watts drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 23-16, then Claborn hit a grand slam to center to make the score 23-20. Kyle followed with a triple, but Scott grounded out to end the wild rally.
 
The series continues with a 2 p.m. start Saturday, followed by a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday for the finale. The Legacy Sports Network audio broadcasts with Russ Reneau begin with the pregame show 10 minutes prior to each first pitch and are available on HBUHuskies.com.