Robbie Buller
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
HOUSTON, Texas – Robbie Buller’s bases loaded, one out double in the bottom of the ninth pushed two runs across to give the HBU baseball team a 12-11 victory for a four-game sweep of Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Husky Field.
The scoring started early, with Northern Colorado pushing a single run across with a leadoff single, a stolen base and a double. HBU quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning as Nick Homan led things off with a single. Two outs later, Andrew Taccolini drove his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall to put the Huskies ahead, 2-1.
The Bears got another single run in the third inning to tie the game. In the fourth, HBU committed a pair of errors that gave way to four UNC runs, three of which were unearned. The Huskies answered in the bottom half as Leo Delgado singled, moved to third on a Jose Luis Perez single and then scored on a single off the bat of Logan Wyeth to bring the score to 6-3.
Northern Colorado got a single home run in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 7-3. In the Husky half of the fifth, Eric Schiro and David Mark led off with consecutive singles. Two batters later, with two outs, Delgado singled to right center to bring Schiro around to score. J.W. Beauchamp drew a walk and then Perez singled in two runs to pull HBU within one. UNC again had an answer, connecting on four hits in the sixth to push across two more runs. With one more run in the seventh, the Bears held a 10-6 lead.
Delgado led off the seventh with a double to dead center field and then scored on a pinch hit single off the bat of Robbie Buller. In the eighth, Mark was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Taccolini singled to center followed by a double from Brian Franze that brought Mark around to score. Delgado singled to right to bring in two more runs and tie the game at 10-10.
In the ninth inning, the Bears got a runner on with one out who then stole second. Right after the steal, a single to left center brought the runner home to give UNC a one-run lead. Mark again led the Husky inning off by getting hit by a pitch. Taccolini drove a double to left field to put men on second and third with nobody out. After a strikeout, Delgado was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Buller then stroked an 0-1 pitch in to the left center gap to bring the winning run home.
Delgado finished the game 4-5 at the plate with a walk, three runs scored and three runs batted in. It was the first four-hit game of the season by an HBU hitter. Taccolini extended his hitting streak to six games with a 3-6 game, driving in two runs and scoring three times. Wyeth was a perfect 3-3 with two walks and one RBU. Perez was 2-3 with two runs batted in.
Stephen Nikonchik earned the win in relief for HBU, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing one earned run. The sophomore struck out three while walking one and allowing one hit. Nikonchik is now 1-2 on the season.
Zac Schiefen started for the Huskies, allowing six run with only three of them earned. He struck out three and walked two in 3.2 innings, giving up six hits.
HBU pounded out a season-high 18 hits in the win and stranded 15 men on base. Northern Colorado finished with 14 hits and nine runners left on base.
HBU moved to 6-24 on the season while Northern Colorado falls to 9-21.
The Huskies travel to San Marcos on Monday for a single game against Texas State at 6:30 pm.
