The Covenant baseball team opened conference play Thursday afternoon taking on the Huntingdon Hawks. If you're a fan of good pitching, this was the game for you. Both teams aces went head-to-head, but with a run in the eighth inning, the Scots came out on top.
Final: Covenant 1, Huntingdon 0 RHP Bryce Bollinger did not give up his first hit until the fifth inning as Huntingdon's lone base runner was on a walk in the second inning.
RHP Jacob McFarling for Huntingdon was matching Bollinger's performance keeping zeros on the scoreboard and retiring the Scots in order in the fifth and sixth innings. A single from Roby McClarnon followed by a wild pitch that advanced him to second base in the seventh inning gave Covenant a scoring chance, however a strikeout by McFarling ended the frame.
In the eighth inning, the Hawks earned a two-out walk however the inning ended soon after as Hudson Couch threw out the guy who reached trying to steal second base. Singles from Elliott Eastin and Ben Johnson followed by a Sam Cecil walk loaded the bases with one out for Covenant in the eighth inning.
Zeke Gilbert delivered an RBI single to center field that scored Eastin, and secured what would be the winning run. McFarling retired the next two batters with a strikeout and a fly out to keep the Hawks in it going to the ninth. A leadoff single and a sac bunt for Huntingdon put a runner in scoring position in its final chance to tie the game. Bollinger finished strong, earning a strikeout and a pop out to get the complete-game win.
Covenant moves to 15-24 all-time against Huntingdon. Bollinger (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) picked up his fourth win of the season on the bump in dominating fashion. During the game, Bollinger became Covenant's all-time leader in innings pitched as he currently sits at 278.2 innings.
McFarling (8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) suffered the loss for Huntingdon despite a strong performance.
Gilbert (2-for-4, 1 RBI) and Eastin (2-for-3, 1 R) each had two hits to lead the Covenant offense.
Covenant outhit Huntingdon 7-2. Both teams had no errors on the day.
Covenant and Huntingdon wrap up their series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.