Blackwell's 7 RBIs help Hawks complete sweep of Berry

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon baseball team got off to a strong start on Sunday. But after scoring seven runs in the first inning, the Hawks had to rally late in the game to beat Berry 15-12.

Trailing 11-10 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Blackwell doubled down the left-field line to bring in three runs and give the Hawks a 13-11 lead. The junior first baseman finished the day 4-for-4 with seven RBIs and two runs.

Neil Lawler (2-1) earned the win, pitching the final two innings of the game. Lawler struck out one, walked one, allowed one run and gave up two hits.

With the win, Huntingdon (20-9) completed a three-game sweep of Berry. The Hawks won 11-0 on Friday and 9-1 on Saturday. Early in Sunday's game, it looked like Huntingdon would again put the Vikings away early.

Huntingdon sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored seven runs. Huntingdon carried the seven-run lead into the third inning before Berry began to rally. The Vikings chipped away at Huntingdon's lead, scoring 11 runs in five innings.

But the Hawks answered with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. Following Blackwell's go-ahead double in the seventh, Huntingdon added two more runs on RBIs by Austin White and Evan Agnew.

Blackwell was one of four Hawks with multiple hits and one of five Huntingdon players to score at least two runs. Caleb Astin finished with three hits, two RBIs and two runs. White had two hits, two RBIs and two runs and Keegan Lambeth had two hits and three runs. Joseph Odom drew four walks on the day and scored four runs.

Huntingdon returns to action at Covenant in a three-game series next weekend. Game 1 is set for 3 p.m. on Friday.