By: Anthony Gulizia, News Staff
The baseball team snapped a six-game losing streak after taking two games from conference foe Old Dominion at Friedman Diamond this weekend. The Huskies then dropped an 8-3 contest at Maine yesterday, bringing the team’s record to 11-26 on the season, and 4-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The squad is last out of 11 teams in the conference and is out of playoff contention.
Throughout the weekend, the pitching staff proved to be dominant for head coach Neil McPhee’s squad. Friday afternoon, junior righthander Les Williams allowed just two runs and tossed a complete game in an 8-2 victory, and sophomore lefthander Drew Leenhouts went seven strong innings, allowing just one run while striking out 12 hitters in a 4-1 victory.
“[Leenhouts] has taken himself to a higher level, and has put himself in a position were he can be a high-round draft pick next year if he continues to move forward from where he is now,” McPhee said. “Most importantly, his command of the strike zone is a huge indication of how advanced of a pitcher he is.”
Leenhouts has 81 strikeouts on the season, good enough for second in the CAA – only two strikeouts behind conference leader Kyle Hald of Old Dominion.
Despite losing on Saturday in 10 innings, senior left-hander Charly Bashara hurled eight strong innings, striking out seven hitters and allowing just two runs in the 4-3 loss.
“The pitching performances continues to be good to superb,” McPhee said. “This weekend all three were superb, including Charly’s, he pitched a terrific ball game.”
The Huskies also received a strong performance from sophomore first baseman Matt Miller. Miller went 4 of 9 on the weekend with two RBI, and preserved Sunday’s victory not only with his bat, but his awareness too. He went 1-2 with two RBI, but the game-changing play came in the top of the eighth, when ODU had the bases loaded with two outs, down 4-1. ODU rightfielder Josh Wright ripped a line drive down the left field line, clearing the bases and evening up the game at four runs apiece.
But, Miller noticed Wright never touched first. Miller grabbed the ball, tagged first, and the inning ended without any of the runs scoring, and the Huskies hung on to a 4-1 lead.
“Every infielder is taught to look at the base and the umpire is too,” McPhee said. “Matt’s mental game is so strong to go with everything else. He’s the most dependable, reliable player, and that’s one you don’t see very often.”
Saturday afternoon, the Huskies weren’t as fortunate, losing 4-3 in an extra frame. The freshmen provided the fire power for the Huskies, with catcher John Puttress driving in two runs and third baseman Logan Gillis drove in one.
With the game tied 3-3 in the top of the tenth, ODU capitalized on an untimely error by senior left fielder David Gustafson. Gustafson dropped a fly ball allowing a runner to reach second, who later scored on a double by third baseman Jake McAloose. The Huskies couldn’t score in the bottom half of the frame, losing 4-3.
Friday’s victory came with ease, as Williams cruised through the Monarch’s lineup and the bats came alive. The Huskies scored eight runs, and Puttress stayed hot. He went 2-3, scoring three runs and belted his second homerun of the season. Compagnone added two runs of his own with a homerun in the sixth, and the Huskies added four more in the eighth to ensure the victory.
The Huskies played their last home games of the season this weekend, finishing the season with an eight game road trip. McPhee feels the Huskies can finish strong despite their poor reord.
“It’s been a frustrating season, but the key for us now is to try to gain a respectable end of season and we can do that,” McPhee said. “And there is none of us going into the game feeling we cant win them. We can win every game we have left on our schedule.”
The Huskies head to Atlanta for a three-game series at Georgia State starting Friday.
