Foresters' season comes to an end

UPLAND, Ind. - The 4th-seeded Forester baseball team's season came to an end Saturday afternoon thanks to a determined Marian squad, seeded sixth, that turned an 8-0 deficit into a 10-8 win in an elimination game of the Crossroads League Tournament at Taylor's Winterholter Field.

Huntington came out swinging to chase MU starting pitcher Jace Stoops off the mound early in the third inning. The Foresters tapped into seven of their eight hits in the second and third frames to plate four runs each inning to race in front 8-0. Beyounce Paco Paulina struck first for his team with a two-run single up the middle in the second after which a Knight throwing error resulted in two more runs scored for Frame and crew.

HU went back to work in the third to manufacture four more runs on a pair of two-run singles by Dylan Rost and Byrce Deckman respectively. It was a shocking turn of events after that as Huntington's bats went silent while Marian's bats came alive.

The Knights comeback was methodically as they chipped away at their deficit by scoring in five straight innings starting with the fourth. After scoring two runs in each of the three middle frames, the seventh proved their most productive, coming around to score three times which turned things around at 9-8. They would go on to touch home once more in the eighth as the cherry on top.

Meanwhile HU managed just one hit against reliever Davis Enfield over the course of the final six innings to bow out quietly. The loss brings an end to Huntington's season. Three Foresters spent time on the bump with Adam Oxley taking the loss. The junior right-handed pitcher tossed 1.1 innings and gave up two hits, three runs and a walk.

The Foresters wrap up the year with a 30-21 record.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 154 NAIA All-America honors and 501 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.