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Box Score 2 Huntsville, AL - The United States Sports University traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to take on Oakwood University in a doubleheader on Friday. The Eagles picked up two wins, winning game one 12-3, and taking the nite-cap 6-3 to move to 8-7 on the season.
In game one,
Ryan Carson pitched five innings, striking out eight hitters to pick up the win. The Eagles scored a pair of runs in the top of the second inning as
Hayden Phillips had an RBI double and Jake Smithson added an RBI single. USSU added four runs in the top of the third inning as
Randy Hernandez had a two-run single,
Chase Jones added an RBI double and Dom Hartman had an RBI sacrifice fly.
Weston Brock led off the top of the fourth with his first home run of the season giving the Eagles a 7-1 lead. After the Ambassadors scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles broke the game open with a four-run inning highlighted by
Hayden Jones' two-run inside the park home run, his team leading fifth home run of the season.
Chase Jones and Smithson added RBI singles in the inning. In the seventh inning
Brayden Helton had an RBI single for his first collegiate hit to complete the scoring. Gio Perez pitched two innings of shut-out relief for USSU.
Game two provided to be a struggle for the Eagles as they popped out or flew out weakly into a 20 mph wind blowing in.
Case Hager started and pitched four innings to pick up the win. Despite the struggles offensively USSU never trailed in the game but it wasn't until late that they were able to create separation. USSU scored a run in the sixth on a
Connor Fitzner RBI safety squeeze bunt. In the seventh,
Randy Hernandez had an RBI single and
Chase Jones an RBI sacrifice fly to give the Eagles a 6-3 lead. Oakwood would bring the tying run to the plate but Eagles' reliever
Mitchel Sampson stranded two runners to pick up his first save of the season.
"We set out what we intended to do which was win two games on the road," said Eagles Head Coach Mike Neal. "It wasn't without struggle and base-running mistakes that we need to get cleaned up as we move deeper into the season and not give teams free outs," added Neal.
USSU will host Lighthouse Christian in a pair of doubleheaders on Thursday and Friday at the Daphne Sports Complex this week.
