HOUSTON, Texas – The Huskies fall to McNeese in game one, 15-5, of the conference home opening series at Husky Field on Friday, March 31
st.
The Huskies (3-21, 1-3 SLC) were led by senior first baseman
Tyler LaRue who went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and an RBI. Freshman left fielder
Trent Baker continues his hitting streak going 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs while freshman pinch hitter/second baseman
Luke Bard went 1-for-1 with a walk and a run. Senior shortstop
Austin Roccaforte went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
Freshman right-hander
Baylor Baumann (0-2) took the loss, giving up seven runs, five earned runs, on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings to start the game. Freshman right-hander
Daniel Farrow and freshman right-hander
Jonathan Valdez each pitched a shutout inning of relief for the Huskies.
The Huskies scored all five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning starting with a solo home run to center field by
Tyler LaRue before
Dylan LaRue scored on a fielder's choice. HCU's last three runs came on a home run to left field off the bat of
Trent Baker scoring
Austin Roccaforte and
Luke Bard.
McNeese (18-8, 2-2 SLC) were led by Payton Harden who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs, a double, and a walk. Braden Duhon went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, three runs, and a walk while Taylor Darden went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, two runs, and a walk. Andruw Gonzales went 1-for-2 with three runs.
Grant Rogers (7-0) earned the win, pitching six shutout innings, allowing four hits with one walk and four strikeouts to start the game for the Cowboys. McNeese used three pitchers in game one.
The Cowboys got on the board in the top of the second inning when Braden Duhon singled down the left field line scoring Andruw Gonzales and Payton Harden before Taylor Darden reached on an error by HCU's
Diego Davila scoring Chase Keeton. Duhon scored on a sac fly to center field off the bat of Cooper Hext. McNeese added another run in the top of the fourth inning when Darden singled through the left side scoring Gonzales. The Cowboys added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning when Harden doubled to center field scoring Brad Burckel and Tre' Obregon. McNeese tacked on three more in the top of the sixth inning starting with Keeton scoring on an error by HCU's
Trey Valka before Duhon scored when Burckel was hit-by-pitch. Darden then scored on a sac fly to right field by Josh Leslie. The Cowboys final five runs came in the top of the seventh inning when Harden and Gonzales scored on a fielder's choice and error by HCU's
Tyler LaRue before Hext singled through the right-side scoring Keeton and Duhon. Leslie was hit-by-pitch to score Darden for the last run of the game.
Game two of the three-game series against McNeese will be at Husky Field on Saturday, April 1
st at 1 p.m. with
Walker Zander (0-3) expected to get the start.
Live stats for the game will be available on HCUHuskies.com. The games will also be available to watch on ESPN+.