HOUSTON – HCU baseball came up just short in a tightly-contested home opener at Husky Field on Tuesday evening, falling to former Southland Conference rival Sam Houston, 4-3.
The Bearkats (3-1) got things going right out of the chute with Jeric Curtis driving a leadoff triple to right center and scoring four pitches later on a Hunter Alvord single up the middle. The Huskies (0-5) answered in the bottom half of the first, however, with
Jeremy Rader collecting a one-out single and then scoring two batters later on a double down the right field line off the bat of
Rhett Hendricks.
Both teams stranded runners in the second and in the third, HCU starting pitcher
Jett Feltman struck out the side on 15 pitches. In the top of the fourth, Sam Houston's Jace Martinez reached on a one-out double and scored from second on a sacrifice fly to center that HCU center fielder
Tyree Jackson chased down with his momentum taking him carrying him away from the infield as Martinez raced all the way around to score ahead of the throw.
The Huskies stranded runners in both the fourth and fifth innings but were unable to push across a run. In the sixth, Sam Houston put runners on second and third with two outs, prompting a pitching change with
Louis Castano coming in to relieve
Jackson Kendall. A hard-hit ball to the right side allowed Caleb Cotton to reach safely while a run scored but a heads-up play by
Anthony Avalos caught the runner from second between third and home with Rader chasing him down to apply the tag and end the inning with HCU trailing, 3-1.
HCU found runs in the seventh with a leadoff walk to
Graham Laxton setting things up. He moved to second on a wild pitch and, with one out, raced home on a single up the middle from Rader. The next batter,
Katcher Halligan, then laced a double down the right field line to bring Rader all the way around to score and even things up, 3-3.
The Bearkats opened the eighth with consecutive singles and then loaded the bases on a bunt single from Caleb Cotton. The winning run then scored on a four-pitch walk to Ryan Franden with
Chase Davis coming out of the pen to induce a double play groundball to third and end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth,
Jack Walker was hit by a pitch to lead it off before Halligan hit into a fielder's choice with one out, moving up to second on a throwing error as the Bearkats attempted to turn a double play. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, a Hendricks groundout to short ended the threat and the game.
Avalos,
Preston Curtis, Halligan and Rader all had two-hit games for the Huskies with Rader scoring two of the team's three runs. On the mound, Feltman allowed two earned runs in four innings of work with six strikeouts and zero walks.
Trent Barnes took the loss for HCU, falling to 0-1, with an earned run allowed on three hits.
HCU hosts Alcorn State for a three-game series this Friday through Sunday, Feb. 20-22, with Friday's game set for 6:30 p.m. and the next two at 2:00 p.m. Following Saturday's game, HCU will present the 2025 team with their Southland Conference championship rings.
