HOUSTON – HBU senior catcher
Jake Pulcheon came through with a two-out, walkoff single in the bottom of the 10
th inning as the Huskies outlasted Stephen F. Austin, 10-9, in the Southland Conference series opener Thursday afternoon at Husky Field.
Pulcheon went 1-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, while senior outfielder
Spencer Halloran went 4-for-5 with two doubles, drove in two and scored three times, including the game-winner. Senior designated hitter
Matt Heck was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run and sophomore third baseman
Elijah Simon, triple, walked three times and scored three runs for HBU (24-28, 16-12 SLC). Senior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson's seven-game hitting streak came to an end, but he was phenomenal defensively, recording 10 assists and four putouts.
Senior righthander
Marshall Herron (2-3) picked up the win for the Huskies, holding SFA scoreless on one hit in 2.2 innings. Junior starter
Zach Carter took a no-decision, giving up three runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
Josh Campbell went 4-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs, while Jake Georgiades went 4-for-5 with a double and four RBIs for the Lumberjacks (17-34, 9-19). Nic Minor went 3-for-5 with a triple and scored a run.
Tyler Starks (2-5) took the loss, allowing one run on one hit and walked four over the final inning and one-third. Starter Jake Norton allowed five runs on five hits in 2.2 innings.
After SFA scored the games first run in the first, HBU erupted for five runs in the third as Simon led off the inning with a triple, senior second baseman
Jack Fitzgerald followed with an RBI single and Heck put the Huskies ahead with a two-run double to right. Heck later scored on a wild pitch and junior rightfielder
Anthony Jones added an RBI single.
The Huskies tacked on a run in the fifth as Halloran doubled to lead off and scored on Pulcheon's sacrifice fly.
The Lumberjacks came back with a pair in the sixth on an RBI single by Georgiades and another when the Huskies conceded a run on a double play.
Campbell had a two-run double down the leftfield line in the seventh and SFA cut the HBU's lead to one on another RBI single by Georgiades. Luis Santiago's RBI single in the eight tied the game and with the bases loaded, Campbell was hit by a pitch, then Georgiades walked as the Lumberjacks went up, 9-7.
Simon walked to lead off the eighth, then junior pinch hitter
Jake Scott was hit by a pitch and Depreta-Johnson moved them up with a sacrifice bunt. Junior centerfielder
Jonathan Ducoff lifted a sacrifice fly to left, then Halloran ripped a pitch back up the middle off pitcher Jesus Gamez and second baseman Eric DeJesus could not handle the ricochet, allowing Scott to score the tying run.
With two outs in the 10
th, Starks walked Halloran and Heck. Pulcheon then hit a high chopper up the middle that found its way into centerfield and Halloran easily scored the deciding run without a play at the plate.
The series continues with a 2 p.m. first pitch Friday at Husky Field. The YouTube video broadcast with
Russ Reneau begins with the pregame show at 1:50 p.m. and is available on HBUHuskies.com.
