Perhaps more painful for the baseball team than two walk-off losses in one day: The blow to the head sophomore pitcher Andrew Leenhouts suffered in the ninth inning of Game Two in Richmond, Va. Despite the injury Leenhouts stayed in the game and surrendered only two runs in 8.1 innings total in the 5-4 loss to conference foe Virginia Commonwealth. Leenhouts struck out nine, bringing his season total to a team-high 26. His efforts earned him Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
With one out and VCU’s Taylor Perkins on base in the bottom of the ninth and the Huskies leading 4-2, Leenhouts delivered a pitch to centerfielder M.L. Morgan, who dropped a bunt down the first base line. While fielding the ball, Leenhouts collided with Morgan, taking a knee to the head, leaving Leenhouts disoriented.
“I went to field the ball, and the next thing I knew guys on the team were helping me up,” Leenhouts said. “I just wanted to stay in and finish the game and get the next batter out.”
Leenhouts stayed in the game, but was unable to finish off the Rams. A passed ball moved runners to second and third, and with the combination of a wild pitch and an error by catcher Jon Leroux, Perkins and Morgan scored tying the game. After surrendering a walk, NU senior pitcher Dan Zehr relieved Leenhouts, and the game ended with a walk-off single.
“It’s a team effort,” Leenhouts said. “I feel just as responsible as anybody, especially with the walk in the ninth.”
While a walk-off lost in a double header can dull the mood for game two, it did the opposite for the Huskies, Leenhouts said.
“In the first game we scored early and then fell asleep, but this helped us out for game two,” Leenhouts said. “We knew we had to keep pressure on them and we did, but it was a tough loss.”
Leenhouts’ performance came on the heels of a strong performance last Saturday in a 7-1 win against Bryant, striking out seven hitters in six innings.
“If I’m having a good week, I like to keep it similar,” Leenhouts said. “Coach [Pat] Mason does a good job letting me know how much time I have to get ready before games, and it gets me into a good routine.”
Pursuing a degree in civil engineering, Leenhouts said he often finds himself having to maintain a consistent balance between school and baseball.
“With my major, you really got to be careful with your schedule,” Leenhouts said. “But we have a lot of good people helping us out here at Cabot and they really
make it easier.”
With baseball a large priority for Leenhouts, he said he hasn’t put much thought into the future.
“Right now, I’m just trying to focus on baseball and academics,” Leenhouts said. “I’ll see where civil engineering takes me, and hopefully my co-op will help me figure it out.”
The Franklin native played basketball, football and baseball at Franklin High School, but said his decision to play baseball was an easy one.
“I always knew baseball was my sport, but I like to compete and I played whatever I could in high school,” Leenhouts said. “I miss the sports I played in high school because they were different. Right now it’s just baseball and I don’t mind, but it’s nice to change it up once in a while.”
In addition to his strong arm, Leenhouts claims to have a set of wheels too. His sister Meredith ran track at Yale, and Leenhouts recalls racing her in the backyard.
“I would win most of the time,” he said with a chuckle. “I’d still take her now, but she’d probably take me in a distance race.”
