SUGAR LAND, Texas – HBU senior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12
th inning to deliver the fourth-seeded Huskies a 4-3 win over eighth-seeded New Orleans, which began Friday and ended just before 2 a.m. Saturday and set up another matchup with the Privateers Saturday at 1 p.m.
Junior designated hitter
Jake Scott went 4-for-6 with an RBI and scored a run for the Huskies (29-29), while sophomore third baseman
Elijah Simon singled, walked twice and scored the winning run. Senior rightfielder
Matt Heck was 2-for-5 and scored a run, junior first baseman
Grant Buck went 2-for-6 with an RBI and scored a run and senior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson went 1-for-5 and walked twice.
Junior righthander
JT Newton (3-5) earned the victory, holding UNO (28-31) scoreless on one hit with one strikeout over the final 4.1 innings. Junior lefty
Taylor Franzman started and allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings, then senior righthander
Weston Smart allowed two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk in 4.1 innings.
Beau Bratton went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Privateers, while Orynn Veillon homered and drove in a pair.
Christopher DeMayo (1-2) took the loss, allowing the winning run on one hit, a walk in one inning. Starter Brayson Smith threw 95 pitches in four innings, giving up one run on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks in four innings. Rafael Martinez allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning. Matthew Gillis, John Barr and Reeves Martin combined to shut the Huskies out for 6.2 innings.
After Newton forced an inning-ending double play in the top of the 12
th, Scott led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right. He then went to second on a passed ball, Simon walked and senior second baseman
Jack Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Depreta-Johnson fouled out to the first baseman, then junior centerfielder
Jonathan Ducoff laid down a squeeze bunt, Scott slid home, but was called out for the second out and was ejected from the game after arguing the call. With the count 1-1, pitcher Rafe Schindler hit Halloran with a pitch to put an end to the late-night marathon.
UNO got on the board first in the top of the fourth, when Bratton and Jay Robinson had back-to-back singles and Scott Crabtree walked to load the bases with one out. Devin Morrill lifted a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead, then Smart struck out Darren Willis to end the frame.
HBU answered in the bottom half, as Scott, Simon and Fitzgerald each singled to load the bases and Ducoff drew a walk to tie the game, 1-1.
Heck struck out to lead off the fifth, but reached first on a wild pitch on the third strike, then senior catcher
Jake Pulcheon laid down a sacrifice bunt. Buck came through with an RBI single, then Scott delivered and RBI single to put the Huskies up, 3-1.
Pearce Howard singled in the eighth, then Veillon hit a two-run home run to leftcenter to tie the game, 3-3.
HBU put the leadoff hitter on in the seventh, eighth and ninth, but failed to get them home. UNO put the leadoff runner on in the 11
th, but the Huskies turned another double play to get out of the inning.
The winner of Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup will face third-seeded Northwestern State in the winner-take-all championship game at 6 p.m.
