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04.30.05
- The Foresters closed out their regular season schedule with
two wins over Taylor University, 7-3 and 9-7, to secure a berth in the
Mid-Central Conference Tournament.
“I'm so happy for our kids," said Coach
Frame. "They have played so hard over the past three weeks to
win 10 of our last 12 and finish in second place in the southern
division of our conference." Only the top three teams in both
divisions moved on to conference tournament play.
In the opener at Taylor, Josh Clark (4-5)
continued HC's great starting pitching by picking up his third
complete game of the season in the win. He gave up three earned
runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out four. The
Foresters took command of the game with four runs in the top of the
second and added two more in the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. The
Trojans plated two in the bottom of the sixth, but that was as close
as they would get as HC added one more in the seventh. Forester
Brian Porter continued to swing a hot bat with two hits and two RBI in
the game. Adam Farris and Zach Crooks each added two hits as
well.
In the nightcap, the
Foresters had to come from behind to complete the sweep. When
Taylor put three on the board in the bottom of the fourth to take a
6-2 lead, things looked bleak for HC. After the two teams traded
runs in the fifth, the Foresters exploded for five runs in the top of
the sixth to take an 8-7 lead. Farris and Jason Rahn each
singled to start off the inning and Austan Kas belted a three-run
homerun. Matt Hesting then singled to keep the rally going.
Michael Dalton moved Tim Krauss, who was running for Hesting, to third
with another single and Thad Frame was hit by a pitch to load the
bases. Porter had a RBI infield single to score Krauss and
Dalton scored on a wild pitch to put HC in front for good.
The Foresters manufactured
an insurance run in the seventh on a leadoff walk to Levi Sell. Rahn sacrificed him to second, Sell stole third and then scored on a
throwing error by the catcher. Farris, Kas, Rahn and Sell each
had two hits in the game to led HC and Kas finished the game with four
RBI. Ryan Finn (3-2) came on in relief of Kurt Cline to get the
win for the Foresters. He went three and a third innings and
gave up one earned run on two hits while striking out five.
HC finished the regular season with a
19-19 record and went 14-8 in MCC play. The Foresters now head
to the MCC Tournament beginning on Thursday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m. at
Indiana Wesleyan University. HC will face Bethel College
in first round action. The winner of the tournament will receive
an automatic berth in the NAIA Region VIII Tournament to be held May
11-14.
The MCC also announced it post-season
awards for the year. HC senior Brian Porter (outfield) and
freshman Thad Frame (shortstop) were All-Conference selections.
Goshen's Ben Taylor was the Player of the Year and Marian's Kurt
Guldner was the Coach of the Year. For a complete listing of the
All-Conference selections, see
http://www.mid-centralconf.org/spring/baseball/index.html. |
