HOUSTON – Trailing 2-1, HBU rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth, then held off Cincinnati for a 5-4 victory in the non-conference baseball series opener Friday afternoon at Husky Field.
Junior first baseman
Johnny Gonzales went 3-for-4 with a double and scored a run, while junior centerfielder
Chase Talbot went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks for HBU (3-2). Senior catcher
Erik Voller drove in a pair of runs and junior rightfielder
Brandon Bena singled and scored twice. Senior designated hitter
Anthony Jones tripled, drove in a run and scored, while junior shortstop
Hayden Baker delivered a pinch-hit RBI double and scored.
Senior righthander
Zach Carter took a no-decision, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Junior righthander
Jacob Coats (2-1) picked up the win by retiring both batters he faced in the eighth. Senior righty
JT Newton notched his third save, but allowed two runs on two hits with a strikeout and a walk in the ninth.
Jeremy Johnson went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, while Wyatt Stapp went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run for Cincinnati (0-4). Joey Wiemer was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and Dondrae Bremner tripled and scored.
Starter AJ Kullman shut out the Huskies on three hits with a strikeout and a walk in four innings for a no-decision. Chase Stewart (0-1) took the loss, giving up three runs on two hits with a strikeout and a walk in 1.2 innings.
Bremner tripled to lead off the third, then scored on a wild pitch to give the Bearcats an early lead. Stapp singled to lead off the sixth and scored on an RBI single by Cole Murphy to put Cincinnati ahead, 2-0.
The Huskies got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Bena singled, then senior
Brady Batten followed with a double. Voller lifted a sacrifice fly to left to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
Gonzales led off the eighth with a double, then Bena laid down a sacrifice bunt, but both runners were safe when Gonzales beat the play at third. Voller's sacrifice bunt tied the game up, 2-2. Baker put the Huskies ahead by ripping an RBI double to rightcenter, then scored on a triple down the right field line by Jones, which extended his hitting streak to five games. Junior infielder
Trent Franson capped the rally with an RBI single to extend HBU's lead to 5-2.
Newton came on in the ninth and hit Jace Mercer with a pitch, then walked AJ Bumpass to lead off the frame. After Wiemer flied out, Stapp delivered an RBI single up the middle. Mason DeAnna flied out, then Johnson singled to center to trim the Huskies advantage to 5-4. Newton then struck out Cole Murphy for the final out.
The series continues Saturday, then concludes Sunday, both 1 p.m. starts. The Husky Sports Network video broadcasts with
Russ Reneau will be available on HBUHuskies.com, beginning at 12:45 p.m.
