Huntingdon takes advantage of Oglethorpe errors for fourth win
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon baseball team struggled to get hits on Tuesday, but that didn't stop the Hawks from finding ways to score runs.
Huntingdon capitalized on six Oglethorpe errors to win 7-1 at Posey Field.
"We found ways to get on base. Once we got on, we were aggressive on the base paths and we tried to put the pressure on them," Huntingdon head coach D.J. Conville said. "We're still not swinging the bats like we want, but we're showing signs of improvement and we're getting better."
The Hawks (4-2) finished with five hits. Huntingdon's first hit came in the fourth inning. By then, the Hawks led 4-1.
The tone was set in the first inning. Huntingdon shortstop Caleb Astin was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on an Oglethorpe error. Astin scored on a Trey Smith sacrifice fly.
Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third, the Hawks pushed three runs across. Grant Brown reached base on an error and Astin was again hit by a pitch. Brown scored on an Oglethorpe error before Smith was hit by a pitch. A Joseph Odom sacrifice fly scored Astin.
Smith stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. After Cameron Lewis was hit by a pitch, Keegan Lambeth drove in Smith on a fielder's choice.
The Hawks added two more runs in the fifth on two hits and two errors. Lewis singled and later scored on an error. An Austin White single scored Lambeth. Huntingdon's final run came on a Lambeth double in the seventh inning that scored Lewis.
Lambeth finished with two RBIs and a run and Lewis scored twice. Lewis, Lambeth, White, Brown and Jordan Freeman each had one hit for the Hawks.
Kevin Aaron (1-0) picked up the win, striking out five, walking one, surrendering one earned run and scattering eight hits. Will Davis struck out one, walked one and gave up one hit in three innings of relief.
"Our pitching was good and our defense came through with some key plays," Conville said. "We got in a little trouble a few times but we were able to get out of it with a big double play or a timely strikeout."
John Gibbs (0-1) took the loss for Oglethorpe (1-1) in five innings of work.
Huntingdon returns to Posey Field on Friday for the first of three games with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Friday's game is set for 4 p.m. The two teams are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
"This weekend is going to be a good test for us," Conville said. "They play in one of the toughest conferences in Division III and they're always solid. These are going to be three games that will make us better. We just have to keep working and keep finding ways to win."