NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The HCU pitching staff held Stephen F. Austin to just three hits on Saturday evening at Pilgrim's Park and the offense manufactured enough runs as the Huskies snapped a six-game losing skid with a 4-3 Southland Conference victory.
HCU (12-15, 5-6 SLC) got the first two batters on in the top of the second thanks to a pair of SFA (14-14, 6-5 SLC) fielding errors.
Nico DeFazio then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move them over before
Anthony Avalos sent a sacrifice fly to right field to bring
Jack Walker across the plate for a 1-0 lead. HCU starting pitcher
Joshua Caravalho carved through the Lumberjacks' lineup in the first two innings, retiring the side in order in both innings.
The Lumberjacks did all their damage on the night in the bottom of the third, scoring all three of their runs in an inning that included a pair of singles, a walk, a hit batter, a wild pitch and two stolen bases. Caravalho was able to get out of the inning with a groundout with two runners in scoring position.
The Huskies came right back in the top of the fourth to even things up however, with
Luke Bard singling to lead off the inning. Walker followed with a double to right center to give HCU two runners in scoring position with nobody out.
Preston Curtis promptly brought Bard home with a single to right that also advanced Walker to third and DeFazio followed with a sac fly to score Walker.
In the sixth, Walker singled with one out before moving up to second on a DeFazio free pass with two outs.
Anthony Avalos then lined an 0-2 pitch into center field for an RBI single as Walker raced around to score and give the Huskies a 4-3 lead.
A group of four relievers held the lead with four consecutive scoreless frames, stranding seven baserunners in the process.
Ben Norton then pitched a three up, three down ninth for his third save of the season.
Caravalho earns his second win of the season, moving to 2-4. The senior allowed three earned runs in five innings of work, striking out six and walking two while giving up just a pair of singles.
Brock Lambert, Caleb Mathews and
David Lopez each threw a scoreless inning of relief to get the game in closer Norton's hands. Norton's save is his third of the year and 12
th of his career, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time at HCU.
Walker ended the night 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and two singles, scoring three runs for the Huskies. Walker has hit safely in eight of the last nine games and has upped his season average to .340. Avalos drove in two runs, going 1-for-3 at the plate while Bard finished 2-for-4.
The two teams will play the rubber game on Sunday, Mar. 29, afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
