Skip To Main Content

Houston Christian University Athletics

OFFICIAL SITE OF HCU ATHLETICS
HCU ATHLETICS
ESPN Plus Logo
Luke Bard
Juan DeLeon Creative
8
McNeese MCN 10-3, 3-2 SLC
15
Winner Houston Christian HCU 9-3, 5-0 SLC
McNeese MCN
10-3, 3-2 SLC
8
Final
15
Houston Christian HCU
9-3, 5-0 SLC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
McNeese MCN 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 8 11 1
Houston Christian HCU 0 1 4 4 0 0 1 5 X 15 16 1

W: Caravalho, Joshua (4-0) L: Cooper Golden (0-1) S: Norton, Ben (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BSB: Huskies Dominate McNeese Behind Explosive Offense, 15-8

Parker Edwards homers for the fifth straight game as HCU stays undefeated in SLC play.

HOUSTON – HCU baseball secured their second-consecutive Southland Conference series win on Saturday at Husky Field, defeating McNeese by a 15-8 final to open conference play with a five-straight wins.

McNeese (10-3, 3-2 SLC) got the scoring started in the top of the second with a pair of runs on three hits, including a home run off the bat of Mack Brousseau. The Huskies (9-3, 5-0 SLC) answered in the bottom half of the inning, however, with back-to-back singles off the bats of Katcher Halligan and Rhett Hendricks with one out. Following a double steal, a Robert Oropeza groundout plated Halligan and cut the deficit in half.

The HCU offense caught fire in the third inning. Kenneth Dutka reached on a one-out single and then moved up to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Matthew Leiterman. Jack Walker then dropped down a perfect bunt that snuck past the pitcher and brought Dutka across the plate to tie the game. Parker Edwards followed that up with a double to right center to score two more with a Hendricks opposite field two-out single scoring Edwards and giving HCU a 5-2 lead through three.

HCU starting pitcher Joshua Caravalho sat the Cowboys down in order in the top of the fourth and the offense got right back to work in the bottom half. With one out, Trevor Roper and Dutka reached on singles before moving up to second and third on a passed ball. Leiterman drove in Roper on a ground ball to second for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, Walker singled through the left side to bring home Dutka for the second run of the inning. Edwards drove in two more when he lashed a ball to deep left with the McNeese left fielder slamming into the wall as he got to the ball with the ball falling to the ground with the center fielder having to race over to pick it up and get it in but Edwards raced all the way around the bases for an inside the park home run, his fifth home run in as many games.

The Huskies' 9-2 lead held until the seventh when the Cowboys took advantage of an HCU error to push across six runs on three hits, including a Simon Larranaga two-run home run. Leading 9-6, the HCU offense again responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Halligan reached on a two-out single, stole second and then crossed the plate on a double by Hendricks for a 10-6 lead heading into the eighth.

McNeese began the eighth with the first two runners reaching base before Larry Edwards Jr. drove a double to left center that scored two while the Huskies caught Edwards at third as he tried to stretch it to a triple. With just a two-run lead, pinch hitter Gage Trahan doubled with two outs, prompting the Huskies to turn the ball over to closer Ben Norton who threw 11 pitches on Friday night to close out the team's 6-2 win. Norton came up with a big strikeout to end the threat and maintain the 10-8 advantage.

In the HCU half of the eighth, Tevis Payne opened things up with an infield single before moving up to second on a wild pitch. Roper then drew a walk and Payne moved up another base to third on a wild pitch, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Dutka then dropped down a suicide squeeze to score Payne and move Roper up to second. Roper moved up to third on another wild pitch and scored on a Leiterman groundout to push the lead back to four, 12-8. Walker and Edwards then drew two-out walks, setting up Halligan for a three-run blast over the right field wall and a 15-8 lead heading into the final frame.

Norton needed just 12 pitches in the ninth to finish the game off and earn his second save of the season.

Caravalho earned his fourth win in as many starts, tossing six innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits. The senior struck out five and walked just one. At the plate, Halligan finished the day 3-for-5 with his second home run of the season, scoring three and driving in three. Hendricks also went 3-for-5, driving in two, while Dutka, Leiterman, Walker and Edwards all had two hits.

HCU looks to sweep the series over the Cowboys in Sunday's finale at 2:00 p.m. at Husky Field.
 
Print Friendly Version