EDINBURG, Texas – A three-run eighth inning put HCU ahead and the Huskies nailed down a 4-2 win over UT Rio Grande Valley at UTRGV Baseball Stadium to advance to the Southland Conference Championship Series next week at Husky Field against New Orleans. The Huskies won three straight games to win the Edinburg bracket as the six-seed.
The host Vaqueros (36-18) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, taking advantage of a pair of HCU (30-23) errors to score an unearned run. The Huskies then put two runners on in the bottom of the second thanks to a pair of walks.
Trevor Roper came up with a single through the left side with one out that scored
Matthew Leiterman from second and even things up, 1-1.
The next three innings moved swiftly before UTRGV threatened in the top of the sixth. The Vaqueros put two of their first three batters on base, prompting a pitching change to
Louis Castano in relief of starter
Jett Feltman. A single loaded the bases with one out but Castano struck out the next batter before inducing a groundout for out number three and keep things tied.
The Huskies put two runners on in both the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to punch one across, leaving things tied at 1-1. Easton Moomau led off the eighth with a ground-rule double, moving over to third on a groundout and scoring on a single off the bat of Thomas Williams, putting HCU in a 2-1 hole.
Luke Bard was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the eighth, scoring three pitches later when
Katcher Halligan drove a triple to deep right center for his fifth extra-base hit of the tournament.
Parker Edwards then drew a pinch hit walk with
Ayden Slott coming in to pinch run. Slott stole second, giving HCU two runners in scoring position.
Jeremy Rader continued his strong weekend, poking a single up the middle to score two and put the Huskies in the lead, 4-2.
Castano then shut the door in the ninth, striking out the first two hitters and getting a groundout to short to finish it off.
Feltman finished the game with a no decision but turned in a terrific start, allowing just one unearned run in 5.1 innings. The senior struck out one, walking none while scattering six hits. Castano, meanwhile, improved to 6-1 on the year with 3.2 inning pitched while allowing just one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts and zero walks.
The win gives the Huskies their first 30-win season since 2013 when HCU went 34-24-1 and won the Great West Conference tournament championship. Next week's championship series will also mark the first time HCU has hosted a conference postseason game since 2007 when the Huskies won the NAIA Region VI Tournament en route to a spot in the NAIA World Series.
The Huskies will take on No. 8 seed New Orleans at Husky Field for a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament in a three-game series. Game one will take place Thursday, May 22 at 6:00 p.m. with game two occurring on Friday, May 23 at 6:00 p.m. and the third game to take place on Saturday, May 24 at 6:00 p.m. if necessary.
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