Hawks Late Push Comes Up Short In Series Opener Against Piedmont
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Piedmont | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
|
Huntingdon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Kicking off their final home series of the regular season, Huntingdon Hawks Baseball squared off with the Piedmont University Lions in the first of three games between the two teams tonight. After falling behind early, the Hawks started to rally late, but ultimately would come up short in a 9-6 loss against the second place team in the CCS standings.
How it happened
With the first inning coming to a close with no hits for either squad, the Lions opened things up in the second inning, scoring on a RBI single to take a 2-0 lead heading into the third inning. A Piedmont grand-slam in the fourth inning raised their lead to 6-0 coming down the stretch, with Huntingdon having recorded just two hits through the first five innings. In the sixth inning however, the Hawks found their rhythm offensively, as Cade Morgan and Ty Pruitt scored the Huntingdon's first two runs off a RBI double from Sam Kelley to cut into the lead, 6-2. Two at-bats later, Dalton Kuhn's groundout returned the favor to Kelley, sending him across home plate to bring the score to 6-3 heading into the seventh inning.
Piedmont tacked on another run in the seventh to push their lead to 7-3, but Huntingdon responded loudly in the bottom of the eighth with three more runs. Brodie Holcomb got things going, laying down a bunt that turned into a Piedmont throwing error, allowing Cade Morgan to score as the lead was reduced to 7-4. Kuhn followed up with an RBI single at the next at-bat, sending Sam Kelley across to bring the deficit to just two runs before Byron McLain's sacrifice fly brought the Hawks within one, 7-6.
In the top of the 9th, the Lions caught fire, hitting two triples to score two runs, putting the Hawks away 9-6 in the series opener.
On the mound
- Jacob McFarling fell to 4-5 on the season as he drew the start for Huntingdon, allowing six runs on three hits with eight walks and a strikeout. Will Argo relieved McFarling in the fourth inning, pitching a little over two of his own before Landon Nelson and Caleb Griffis closed things for the Hawks.
The Hawks look to bounce back tomorrow, April 18th, against the Lions at 3:00 for game two of the series.