Hawks Combine To Outscore Rhodes And Vermont State 18-1, Move To 8-4 On The Year

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- In their second consecutive tournament weekend, Huntingdon Hawks baseball welcomed the Rhodes Lynx and the Vermont State Spartans to Neal Posey Field for a double-header.

After falling to the Lynx at Centenary to open the season, the Hawks led from end-to-end to take an 8-1 victory over Rhodes before defeating the Spartans 10-0 in seven innings.

Game One v. Rhodes

After a scoreless first inning, the Hawks put their first run on the board in the bottom of the 2nd inning, with Jay Davidson's single scoring Dalton Kuhn to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage. Rhodes managed to even things at 1 following a quiet third and fourth innings with a RBI single in the fifth. Ty Pruitt answered with a double, bringing home Kuhn and Sam Kelley to put the Hawks back in front, 3-1. 

Forcing three outs in as many batters in the 6th inning, Sam Kelley's RBI single in the bottom frame kicked off a 6 run inning for the Hawks. Byron McLain followed Kelley with a single of his own to score Cade Morgan before Kelley crossed home plate on a passed ball to extend the Hawks lead to 6-1 entering the seventh inning. Davidson drilled another RBI single in the fourth at-bat of the inning for the Hawks, bringing home Brent Cadenhead and Pruitt to put a stamp on Huntingdon's 8-1 victory.

Jacob McFarling drew the start and pitched 6 innings for the Hawks, allowing 1 run on 4 hits while pitching 8 strikeouts to build up the  lead. Evan Clark relieved McFarling and closed for Huntingdon, pitching 5 strikeouts while allowing just 2 hits in 3 innings to cement the Hawks victory.

Game Two v. Vermont State

The Hawks struck first in the first inning, with Jay Davidson and Sam Kelley crossing home plate to give Huntingdon the early advantage 2-0.  Huntingdon followed a scoreless second inning with 3 runs in the third. Brodie Holcomb's sacrifice fly to score Cade Morgan and Davidson got things going, with Byron McLain's run pushing the Huntingdon lead to 5-0. Morgan found his way home off a fly ball from Morgan to extend the lead even further, 6-0, entering the fifth inning.

The Hawks stayed hot in the fifth inning, with Morgan's single bringing home Brent Cadenhead and Jabez Sampson to raise the Hawks lead to 8-0, before Sam Kelley's two-run homer brought the lead to 10-0.  The Spartans recorded three hits late, but it was too late, as Huntingdon claimed victory 10-0 in 7 innings.

JB Landrum started the second game for the Hawks, throwing 6 strikeouts while allowing just 1 hit through 5 innings. Parker Szush and Waylon Farr each took an inning on the mound for Huntingdon to close the game.

The Hawks return to action tomorrow, February 2nd, against the Spartans to bring a close to the Firehouse Classic. Gametime is set for 12:00 PM CT.