ETV 10 News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
USU Eastern Press Release
USU Eastern baseball won two games on Friday and lost two games on Saturday against the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson.
Led by a complete game pitched by Jarod Lessar, the Eagles defeated CSN 5-2 in game one. Lessar threw all seven innings and allowed eight hits with six strikeouts.
The Eagles used a big sixth inning at the plate in game one to help get the win, including a Steven Ortiz two-run home run to break the 1-1 tie. Ryan Curtis had an RBI single in the sixth inning to put the Eagles up by three runs.
After a slow start in game two on Friday, the Eagles would defeat CSN again by a score of 8-6. USU Eastern scored in each inning after the first three innings to hold of the Coyotes.
Sophomore first baseman Jarrett Hunt had three hits and three RBIs in game two, including a double in the sixth inning two tie the game at 5-5.
“Jarrett Hunt had a really good weekend for us hitting. He was a key to the success we had on the first day,” said USU Eastern head coach Scott Madsen.
With the score tied at 6-6, Chandler Barkdull hit a home run to give the Eagles the lead.
Sophomore Cole Fossat picked up the save in game two after pitching two innings without giving up a hit or run.
“The team played well all weekend long. We had chances in every game to win. The goal is to split on the road and we assured ourselves of that the first day,” said Madsen.
On Saturday, the Eagles lost game three of the series by a score of 3-2. CSN opened the game with a three run first inning to put the Eagles behind early.
The Eagles would score in the fourth inning after an RBI single by Hunter Porritt and in the fifth inning with another Barkdull home run.
They would go on to lose game four of the series by one run again by a score of 6-5.
Porritt had a monster game for the Eagles and helped keep them in the game from the plate. In five at-bats in game four, Porritt had three hits and five RBIs.
“On day two, Hunter Porritt had one of the best hitting days he has had all year,” said Madsen.
Game four went into extra innings and the Coyotes scored the game winner in the tenth inning off a A.J Amelburu single.
After losing both games on Saturday by one run each, Coach Madsen said he left Henderson with a positive outlook.
“We knew going into this weekend that this would be a tough series for us. CSN plays extremely well at home. I feel that overall the weekend was a positive one. Our team had that desire back and were willing to give everything they had in every game,” said Madsen.
The team heads into the final weekend of games this week and will take on College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls on Friday and Saturday.
The Eagles currently are tied for fourth place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference with CSN in the win column. They have an overall record of 22-22 and will have a midweek non-conference game against SLCC on Tuesday starting at 3 p.m. at Carlson Field.