MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Senior Alex Sanford struck out 13 hitters
in his second complete game of the season and the Huntingdon offense
pounded out 17 hits, as the Hawks took the opening game of a three-game
Great South Athletic Conference series against LaGrange, 11-2, Friday
evening at Neal Posey Field.
With the win, the Hawks improved to 24-10 on the season and 3-4 in
GSAC play, while the Panthers fell to 15-14 overall and 2-2 in league
games.
Sanford, who now leads all Division III pitchers in strikeouts on the
season with 97, scattered just six hits and walked four, to improve to
7-2 on the year.
Seniors Josh Bennefield and Kyle Eller, as well as junior Drew
Harrell led the Hawks offensive attack with three hits each, while Eller
drove in four runs, giving him 50 RBIs on the season. Bennefield and
senior Chris Knight each added two runs batted in and two runs scored.
Huntingdon put the contest out of reach midway through the game, as
it scored 10 combined runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In each
inning, the Hawks batted around.
In the four-run fifth inning, Eller delivered the key hit for
Huntingdon, a two-run single down the right field line, plating Harrell
and Bennefield who each reached on singles.
The Hawks added six runs in the sixth inning, as five different
players collected RBIs. In the frame, Huntingdon sent 11 hitters to the
plate, as Bennefield and seniors Shawn Bezwiechin and Chad Green each
drove in runs with doubles.
Eric Heath led the Panthers, finishing 1-for-3 at the plate with his
first home run of the season. On the mound, Robby Williams (2-2) took
the loss, after allowing five runs on 11 hits in the first 4.0 innings
of the game.
The Hawks and Panthers will play game two of the series on Saturday
at 2 p.m.
###
Tim Lutz
Sports Information Director
Phone: (334) 833-4579
tlutz@huntingdon.edu
|