HH 15 at AR 9

The Hatters got on a baseball field for the first time in 2015 and walked away with a wild 15-9 victory over Archbishop Ryan. The Hatters were staring at a 7-0 deficit after 2 innings and a 9-6 deficit after 5 innings before scoring 9 runs in the top of the 6th inning to start the season with a win.

The two biggest outs of the game were registered by senior reliever Erik Kleidon. Kleidon entered the game with the Hatters trailing 7-0 in the bottom of the 2nd with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd. Kleidon escaped further damage by getting a groundout and a pop out. The Hatters then answered back with 3 runs in the top of the 3rd. The Hatters closed the gap to 7-6 in the top of the 5th on an RBI double by Eric Lane, a sac fly from Joe Simmons and a double steal on which Colin Kennedy scored.

After 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Hatters entered the 6th inning, which would be the last due to light, trailing 9-6. On the strength of 4 Hit-By-Pitches, 4 walks, and 3 hits, the Hatters scored 9 runs to take a 15-9 lead. Senior Ryan Murphy had the big hit, a 2 RBI single that gave HH a 11-9 lead. Murphy then threw a perfect bottom of the 6th to nail down the win for the Hatters including 2 K’s.

The offense was lead by seniors Kevin Barron (2-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 1 BB), Ryan Murphy (2-3, 2 RBI) and sophomore Colin Kennedy (2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB).

Erik Kleidon (0.2 IP), Colin Kennedy (1 IP, 2 Ks), Eric Lane (1 IP, 2 Ks), and Ryan Murphy (1 IP, 2 K) all had scoreless outings.

The Hatters (1-0 Overall, 0-0 SOL Continental) will be back in action on Monday at Truman at 4 pm.