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Box Score 2 THIBODAUX, La. – The Southland Conference-leading HCU baseball team wrapped up its SLC series against Nicholls with a pair of road wins over Nicholls at Didier Field in Saturday's doubleheader with the Colonels, earning wins by scores of 6-4 and 4-2.
The Huskies (20-10, 12-3 SLC) set the tone early in the opener, striking first in the top of the first inning. Jack Walker singled up the middle with two outs and nobody on before scoring on an RBI double to right center by Parker Edwards to give HCU a 1–0 lead. HCU added to its lead in the second as Matthew Leiterman led off with a double down the third base line and was brought home two batters later by a sacrifice fly from Jeremy Rader to make it 2–0.
Joshua Caravalho kept Nicholls (12-20, 6-12 SLC) off balance to maintain the Huskies' 2-0 lead through six innings, allowing only a handful of singles and stranding runners. HCU broke through again in the top of the seventh when Luke Bard led off with a single, moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and stealing third. He then scored on a groundout by Trevor Roper, extending the lead to 3–0.
In the bottom of the seventh, a hit batter to lead off the inning followed by a wild pitch gave Nicholls a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Consecutive groundouts moved the runner up and brought him home to cut the HCU lead to 3-1. The Huskies answered, however, taking advantage of a pair of errors and a wild pitch along with a pair of singles to double their run total for a 6-1 advantage.
The Colonels opened the eighth with a pair of singles, prompting a pitching change by the Huskies. Jacob Cyr retired the first batter faced before Aaron Biediger drove a three-run home run to left to bring it to a 6-4 game. Cy allowed a single to lead off the bottom of the ninth before inducing a 6-4-3 double play and finishing things off with a popup.
Caravalho improved to 6-1 on the season, tossing seven innings with two earned runs allowed on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
The second game started as a pitcher's duel, with both teams scoreless through three innings. HCU broke through in the fourth when Edwards was hit by a pitch to lead things off before advancing on a walk and moving to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a groundout by Leiterman.
Nicholls tied it up in the fifth with three singles, capped by an RBI single from Jaden Collura. HCU quickly regained the lead in the sixth. Edwards led off with a single and scored on the next at bat when Katcher Halligan drove a double to left field. HCU padded its lead in the seventh with Kenneth Dutka opened the inning with a double to right. Two batters later, Jack Walker sent an RBI double to left center. An intentional walk to Edwards followed along with a walk issued to Halligan that loaded the bases with just one out. Leiterman came through with a two-out single to right to bring Walker across the plate and push the lead to 4-1.
Nicholls scratched a run across on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half but a double play on the flyout ended the inning. A day after throwing three innings in relief, Louis Castano came on in the eighth and retired the side in order in both the eighth and ninth to shut the door and earn the save..
Ben Smith picked up the win for HCU, allowing just one earned run on six hits with seven punchouts and one walk across six innings to move to 3-2. The save was Castano's second of the season.
Walker finished the day 4-for-9 at the plate while every starter across the two games had at least one hit. The Huskies totaled 18 hits across the two games.
HCU has now won all five of its Southland Conference series this season, the only team in the league to boast such a feat. The Huskies' 12-3 record in conference play keeps them atop the league standings.
Up next, The Huskies travel to Austin to face Texas on Tuesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m.
