HOUSTON - Eight HBU starters had multiple hits and five had multiple RBIs as the Huskies hammered away for 19 hits in a 13-7 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley in non-conference baseball Wednesday afternoon at Husky Field.
Sophomore catcher
Jeremy Simon went 3-for-4 with two triples and scored twice, while junior leftfielder
Ryne Edmondson went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for HBU (10-22). Junior shortstop
Nathan Soriano, junior third baseman
Trent Franson, junior first baseman
Johnny Gonzales, junior rightfielder
Brandon Bena, senior designated hitter
Erik Voller and junior centerfielder
Chase Talbot each had two hits, with Soriano, Franson and Bena each driving in two and scoring twice. Voller scored twice and junior second baseman
Cal Clark drove in a pair.
Junior lefthander
Solomon Klimeck (2-0) picked up the win, allowing two hits and striking out four in 2.2 innings of relief. Freshman
Chris Burns made his first career start, allowing five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Oliver Closner IV went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, an RBI and two runs, while Christian Sepulveda homered and drove in three for UTRGV (20-12). Coleman Grubbs doubled and drove in two and Jacob Flores went 2-for-3.
Starter Chase Adams (1-2) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in one innings. The Vaqueros used seven more pitchers the rest of the way, including Zach Martinez, who held the Huskies scoreless on three hits over three innings.
Sepulveda blasted a two-run homer to center in the first, but HBU answered with three in the bottom half of the inning. Soriano led off with an infield single, then Franson followed with an RBI double. Bena's infield single plated Franson from third with the tying run, then Edmondson's infield single brought Bena home with the go-ahead tally. Simon tripled to lead off the third and Soriano's sacrifice fly brought him home for a 4-2 lead.
HBU erupted for five runs in the fourth, with Simon, Talbot, Soriano, Franson and Gonzales leading off the inning with five-straight singles. Bena reached on a fielder's choice to drive in a run and Edmondson capped the rally with an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-2.
UTRGV answered in the fifth, as Closner led off the frame with a solo shot to right. Grubbs and Sepulveda each drove in runs to cut the deficit to 9-5.
The Vaqueros struck for two more in the eighth, when Closner doubled, then scored on a single by Elijah Alexander. Grubbs' sacrifice fly pulled UTRGV within two at 9-7.
In the bottom of the eighth with two outs and no one on base, Gonzales singled, then Bena drew a walk. Voller and Edmondson delivered RBI singles, then Clark ripped a two-run double down the leftfield line to push the lead to 13-7.
The Huskies host Abilene Christian in a three-game Southland Conference series Friday through Sunday at Husky Field. The Husky Sports Network broadcasts with
Russ Reneau will be available on
HBUHuskies.com and youtube.com/hbuhuskies.
