Huntingdon baseball completes sweep of Methodist

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon pitching staff set the tone Saturday as the Hawks completed a two-game sweep of Methodist University with a 6-1 win. Huntingdon won the first game 16-3 on Friday night.

A day after scoring 16 runs on 13 hits against the Monarchs, Huntingdon (14-5) still had plenty of offensive punch. The Hawks scored five runs in the first three innings and finished with 10 hits.

That was more than enough cushion for pitchers Gavin Free, Cory Belyeu and Neil Lawler. The trio combined for five strikeouts, scattered five hits and walked two. Free (3-2) earned the start and picked up the win in six innings.

After facing five batters in the first inning and giving up two hits and a run, Free struck out four and only allowed two hits and a walk in his final five innings. Belyeu faced six batters in two innings and kept the Monarchs (8-15) from reaching base before Lawler took the mound in the ninth and faced four batters to close the game. 

Jordan Freeman and Grant Brown led Huntingdon at the plate. Freeman was 3-for-4 and scored once and Brown was 2-for-4 with one run.

The Hawks took a 3-1 lead in the first as Trey Smith drew a bases-loaded walk, Caleb Astin scored on an Austin White sacrifice fly and Joseph Odom scored on a Methodist error.

In the bottom of the third, Odom hit his eighth home run of the season and Evan Agnew singled to score Tyler Blackwell and make it a 5-1 game. Freeman scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to close the scoring.

Huntingdon returns to action at Muskingum on March 22.