LAKE CHARLES, La. – HCU baseball began its first Southland Conference road series by splitting a doubleheader with the McNeese Cowboys at Joe Miller Ballpark on Friday.
The Huskies (7-8, 3-2 SLC) took an early lead in the top of the second with
Levi Castilleja reaching on a single to lead things off. Two batters later,
Preston Curtis moved Castilleja up with a single followed by a double to right center off the bat of
Nico DeFazio to give starter
David Lopez an early 1-0 lead.
Castilleja came up with another big hit in the third, doubling to left field with two outs to bring
Jack Walker around to score from second. McNeese (8-7, 3-2 SLC) answered in the bottom of the third with a two-out single from Hayden Stringfellow driving in a run.
It was a pitchers' duel from there with both teams putting zeroes on the board until the Huskies put up one more run thanks to a two-out rally.
Jeremy Rader singled up the middle followed by a single through the left side off the bat of
Anthony Avalos. Following a pitching change, Halligan turned on a 1-0 pitch, pulling it into right field to bring Rader across the plate to give reliever
Louis Castano an addition bit of padding as he attempted to lock down a four-inning save.
Lopez threw five strong innings, allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out four and walking two, improving to 3-1 on the year. Castano pitched four innings in relief to record his first save of the year, facing just 13 batters and allowing one hit with one strikeout and one walk.
Castilleja had a 4-for-4 game at the plate with a pair of doubles, one RBI and one run scored. The junior catcher is now batting .500 on the season. Avalos and Halligan each had two-hit games.
The nightcap saw McNeese starting pitcher Eric Nachtsteim throw a gem, pitching a complete game as McNeese earned a 4-2 win.
The Cowboys struck first in the second game with a walk and consecutive doubles bringing home two runs for a quick 2-0 advantage. HCU cut the lead in half in the top of the third when
Tyree Jackson struck a solo home run to left center for his second home run of the year. It was a similar story for McNeese in the fifth with a lead-off walk followed by two-straight doubles to plate two more runs, making it a 4-1 game.
HCU again trimmed its deficit, this time on a solo home run from
Rhett Hendricks to left field with one out. That was the last hit the Huskies would register against Nachtsteim, however.
Nachtsteim finished the game throwing nine innings with 16 strikeouts and no walks, allowing just three hits. For HCU,
Joshua Caravalho took the loss on the mound, allowing four earned runs in give innings of work on seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Jackson Kendall threw three innings of scoreless relief.
The two teams will play the rubber game this Saturday, Mar. 7, at 2:00 p.m.
