The Huntington University baseball team capped its domination of the Crossroads League Tournament with a 15-3 rout of Marian University on Wednesday, May 10, at Taylor University.
The top-seeded Foresters won three of their four games by 10 runs or more to cruise to their seventh tournament championship in program history. It’s the first time Huntington has captured the tourney title in the same year it won the league’s regular-season championship.
After spotting the third-seeded Knights a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Foresters responded with three runs in the third and six more in the fourth to build a 9-1 advantage. Marian replied with two runs in the top of the fifth, but Huntington matched that offensive production in its half of the frame, as well as the next two innings to put an exclamation point on the lopsided affair.
The Foresters, 33-11, were led by senior Michael Crowley, who smacked a grand slam. Senior Shea Beauchamp chipped in a hit and three runs batted in. Sophomore Tyler Zimske belted a two-run home run while senior Dalton Combs supplied a triple and two RBI to Huntington’s 11-hit attack.
Tarrin Beachy earned the win for the Foresters, limiting the Knights to just a hit in 3.1 innings of relief. The junior, 4-1, fanned four and issued no walks.
Sophomore Connor West pitched the first 4.2 frames for Huntington, yielding six hits and three earned runs while walking four and striking out two. Sophomore Caleb Landrum tossed a perfect frame of relief in the ninth.
Cody Chandler took the loss for Marian, 29-21, giving up four hits and three earned runs in the first 2.2 innings.
Despite the defeat, the Knights claimed the tourney’s bid to the 2017 NAIA National Tournament, as the Foresters had previously earned a berth by winning the league’s regular-season title. The opening round of the tournament will take place May 15 through 17.