Smith's triple lifts Hawks past 8th-ranked Adrian in bottom of the 9th

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon senior Trey Smith made his only at-bat count Friday night.

Smith, pinch-hitting in the bottom of the ninth inning, stepped to plate with the bases loaded, one out and the Hawks down by two runs. With a full count, the left-handed Smith ripped a triple down the right-field line to clear the bases and give Huntingdon a 6-5 win over eighth-ranked Adrian College.

"Trey was clutch tonight. He did what you expect a senior to do," Huntingdon head coach D.J. Conville said. "You talk to your guys about living in the moment and that's what Trey did. He's normally in the starting lineup, but tonight we went with a different lineup because of the matchup with their lefty pitcher.

"When Trey got his chance, with the game on the line, he came through for us."

Smith's triple capped a game that saw Huntingdon (9-5) score three runs in the first two innings before giving up a run in the fifth inning, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Starter Cory Fox went eight innings, scattering seven hits, walking three and striking out seven for Adrian (1-3). But reliever Austin Abbott got into trouble in the ninth, giving up singles to Seth Currie and Grant Brown and walking Caleb Astin to load the bases. Tommy Eng came on in relief of Abbott and struck out one batter before Smith stepped to the plate to end the game.

"This was a good win against a very good team," Conville said. "I hope this teaches our guys that it's never over until the last pitch. This should give us confidence as we move forward. We have a very difficult schedule in front of us, but we're learning we have to put the blinders on and take each game as it comes."

Huntingdon's first three runs came on Adrian errors, as Brown scored in the first and Austin White and Evan Agnew scored in the second.

Joseph Fincher (1-1) picked up the win, striking out five, walking two, giving up four hits and allowing four runs in four innings of relief.

Huntingdon returns to action on Saturday in a doubleheader at Birmingham-Southern. The Hawks play 2010 national champion Illinois Wesleyan at 2 p.m. and 10th-ranked Birmingham-Southern at 5 p.m.