HAMMOND, La. – The HBU baseball team took both ends of a Southland Conference doubleheader and head coach
Jared Moon picked up his 400
th career win on Friday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, defeating Southeastern Louisiana 3-1 and 4-3.
Win number 400 came in the opener of the doubleheader with the Huskies (14-37, 11-26 SLC)) and Lions (29-22, 21-17 SLC) locked in a pitcher's duel keeping the game scoreless into the fifth inning of the seven inning game. HBU starter
Daxton Tinker kept SLU off the board until the bottom of the fifth when a one-out walk was followed by a double off the bat of Eli Johnson to make it a 1-0 game.
In the top of the sixth, Brennan Bales reached base on a hit by pitch to open the inning with
Brandon Bena following with a single to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Pinch hitter
Todd Jackson then plated Bales from third and advanced Bena with a sacrifice bunt to even the score. SLU put pressure on the Huskies in the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back singles to open the inning but Tinker came up with a big strikeout followed by a double play to end the threat.
After HBU's first two batters in the seventh failed to reach base,
Lane Botkin drew a two-out walk and stole second. With a full count,
Jake Miller drove a 3-2 pitch over the left-center wall to put the Huskies ahead 3-1. Tinker then took care of business in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side in order, for the complete game victory.
Tinker picked up the win with his first complete game of the season, moving him to 2-4 for the year. The sophomore scattered six hit over seven innings with four strikeouts to just one walk. Miller went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored thanks to his second home run of the season.
In game two, Botkin opened things with a leadoff single and promptly stole second. Miller then knocked a single to left center to score Botkin for a quick 1-0 lead just two batters in. SLU got on the board in the third, evening the score at 1-1 on a two-out double.
The Lions took the lead in the fifth after consecutive singles to open the inning followed by a sacrifice bunt to score Gaby Cruz from third. HBU re-took the lead in the top half of the sixth with Botkin again setting the table with a leadoff walk. After a
Nathan Soriano groundout advanced Botkin to second, Bales singled to score Botkin with
Brandon Bena following with a double down the left field line to Bring Bales around to score.
The HBU lead was short-lived, however, with SLU's Jacob Burke tying things at 3-3 with a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning. In the top of the seventh,
Trent Franson opened things up with a double down the left field line but was thrown out at third on a fielder's choice on the ensuing at bat. With
Parker Wayne on first and one out,
Chase Talbot responded with a single to put runners on first and second. Botkin then came up with an 0-2 single through the right side to bring Wayne across the plate for a 4-3 lead.
Over the final three innings, reliever
Andrew Reitmeyer shut down the Lions and only allowed one hit to preserve the Husky victory.
Botkin was 2-for-3 in game two with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Franson finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate.
Jared Burch started for the Huskies, allowing two earned runs over five innings on five hits with a pair of strikeouts. Reitmeyer earned the win in relief, allowing one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts over four innings of work. The senior is now 3-4 on the season.
The Huskies will wrap up the 2021 season on Saturday, May 22, against SLU with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m.
