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Houston Christian University Athletics

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HCU ATHLETICS
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Trevor Roper
Juan DeLeon Creative
10
Northwestern State NSU 20-15, 12-7 SLC
17
Winner Houston Christian HCU 21-11, 13-3 SLC
Northwestern State NSU
20-15, 12-7 SLC
10
Final
17
Houston Christian HCU
21-11, 13-3 SLC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwestern State NSU 1 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 2 10 12 4
Houston Christian HCU 0 3 7 4 0 2 0 1 X 17 14 4

W: Castano, Louis (4-0) L: Marionneaux, Dylan (3-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BSB: Huskies Dominate Demons in 17–10 Win at Husky Field

HCU explodes for 14 runs across three innings to open the series with a win

HOUSTON – The HCU baseball team exploded for 14 runs in a three-inning span from the second through the fourth and never looked back, defeating Northwestern State 17–10 in a high-scoring Southland Conference affair Friday night at Husky Field to remain alone in first place in the league.

The Demons (20-15, 12-7 SLC) took a 1–0 lead in the first with an unearned run, but the Huskies (21-11, 13-3 SLC)  wasted little time before responding. In the bottom of the second, a leadoff walk to Matthew Leiterman was followed by a single off the bat of Rhett Hendricks and then Jeremy Rader reached on a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Trevor Roper brought Leiterman home, an RBI single from Kenneth Dutka scored Hendricks, and a groundout by Katcher Halligan plated Rader for a 3-1 lead.

Northwestern State came right back and reclaimed the lead with a grand slam from Samuel Stephenson in the top of the third to go back ahead, 5-3. The Huskies bounced right back to take the lead for good in the bottom half, erupting for seven runs. Parker Edwards led off with a single, followed by a Luke Bard walk and a sacrifice bunt from Leiterman that was misplayed, allowing Leiterman to reach on an error and load the bases with nobody out. Hendricks followed with an RBI single to center, scoring Edwards, followed by an RBI walk from Rader. Roper then singled to right, driving home two more, with Dutka coming up with an RBI single in the next at bat, putting HCU up, 8-5, with nobody out and runners on first and second. Following a pitching change, Katcher Halligan drew a walk to again load the bases. Jack Walker drove in a run on a fielder's choice and then, with one out, Edwards drove in the seventh run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.

After NSU got one run back in the top of the fourth, the Huskies extended their lead further in the bottom of the inning. Dutka drove in a run with an RBI single, Halligan drove in two with a two-run double down the left field line and Edwards drove in one more with a two-out single for a 14-6 HCU advantage through four innings. The Demons added two in the sixth on a two-run home run to right field by Clay Jung but the Huskies took advantage of two NSU errors in the bottom of the sixth to score two runs of their own and push their lead back to eight, 16-8. HCU added another run on Roper's second sac fly of the game in the eighth before the visitors added two more runs in the ninth.

Roper delivered a career-best four RBIs as he went 1-for-3 at the plate. Dutka went 3-for-7 with three RBIs, two stolen bases, and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot while Halligan reached base four times, thanks to three walks, with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Rader worked four walks and scored three runs despite not recording a hit. Bard added two hits, two walks, and three runs scored, while Hendricks scored three times on a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI and a walk.

In total, the Huskies drew 14 walks, had 14 hits, and had five sacrifice plays (two sac flies from Roper and one from Edwards, plus bunts from Rader and Leiterman), showcasing both aggressiveness and execution on offense.

Edwards started the game, lasting 2.2 innings with five walks and five runs (four earned) allowed. Louis Castano entered in relief and steadied the game, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs to earn his fourth win of the season. Remy Marsh finished off the final two innings with two runs, one earned, allowed.

The series continues Saturday, April 12, with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. at Husky Field. It will be Alumni Day as the Huskies look to clinch their sixth-consecutive SLC series win.
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