CONWAY, SC —- Houston Christian University fell twice on the second day of action in the Beach Chicken Brawl at Coastal Carolina University on Saturday.
The Huskies got nipped late, falling 5-4 to Ohio State in the morning tilt, then got out-slugged 12-4 by the host Chanticleers in their matinee.
GAME 1
HCU took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Ohio State rallied for four runs in the frame to sneak out a 5-4 victory.
OSU got on the board first in the second inning, scratching a run across the board with the aid of two HCU errors and an RBI single from Tegan Cortelletti.
The Huskies would answer back in the top of the 3rd. With one out,
Avery Drake singled and stole second and then scored on an
AB Garcia double to right field to knot the game at 1-1. Garcia would then cross the dish on a sacrifice fly to right by
Haylie Savage, pushing HCU ahead 2-1.
In the fourth, the Huskies pushed across two more, with Garcia and Savage once again providing the big knocks. Garcia doubled to left to score pinch-runner
Jackie Jessup and Savage then followed with a single to center, scoring Garcia and extending the lead to 4-1.
That lead would hold until the sixth, when OSU finally broke thru against HCU starter
Katy Janes. The Buckeyes quickly put runners on second and third with no outs, and a Jaycee Ruberti pinch-hit single scored one to cut the lead in half.
Ruberti would score after consecutive passed balls and the Buckeyes again put two on base with one out. Kami Kortokrax then lined a single that provided the tying and go-ahead runs.
Janes went 6 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs, only two of which were earned. She struck out two and walked two while throwing 103 pitches as her record evens at 4-4.
Garcia went 3-4 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI. Savage went 1-2 with two RBI, and
Ronni Grofman went 2-3 for the Huskies (9-12).
Allison Smith picked up the win for OSU with 2.2 innings of hitless, scoreless relief, striking out four.
Cortelletti went 2-3 with two RBI and Kortokrax had two RBI for the Buckeyes (8-5).
GAME 2
The Huskies got on the board early, plating a pair of runs when a
Maggie Childs grounder got under the glove at first base, scoring
AB Garcia and
Jasie Roberts for a 2-0 HCU lead.
The Chants would come back in their half of the frame, taking a 3-2 lead after an RBI double from Delaney Keith and a two-run double by Keirstin Roose. In the second, Keith would provide a sacrifice fly before a two-run double by Iyanla DeJesus pushed the hosts out in front 6-2.
HCU would get a couple of runs back in the third, as
Jasie Roberts lined a double down the left field line to score Garcia and Savage.
That would be as close as the Huskies would the rest of the way. DeJesus smashed a solo homer in the fourth and in the fifth, CCU would put the game on ice with a five-spot, capped by a walk-off three-run jack to right field by Keith.
Garcia went 1-2 with two runs scored, and Roberts went 1-1 with the two-run double, a walk and a run scored for the Huskies.
Lyndie Swanson wemt 2.2 innings and was saddled with the loss, falling to 3-5 overall.
Six Chants had two-hits each to pace a 15-hit attack. Keith went 2-4 with her fourth homer and five RBI, while DeJesus, who started in the circle, went 2-3 with her fourth homer and three RBI.
Nicolette Picone, picked up her fourth win of the season with 2.2 innings of one-hit relief as CCU improves to 21-3 on the season.
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NEXT UP:
The Huskies, now 9-13 on the season, will close out play in South Carolina with two more games on Sunday.
HCU will face Canisius at 8:30 am before another matchup with host Coastal Carolina at 11 am.
