When the skies opened up over the Hamilton Heights baseball field on Wednesday, so did the Huskies’ offense.
Heights was down 1-0 entering the sixth inning against Northwestern when it started to rain. The Huskies shrugged off the weather and poured in five runs, then finished things off in the seventh inning to claim a 5-1 Hoosier Conference win. With that, Heights swept the Tigers and are now 5-1 in the conference’s East Division, leading the standings.
The Huskies scored all of their runs with two outs. Erik Malott reached on error, then was quickly sent home by a Sam Fulton double, tying the game. Issiac Hickok then drew a walk. Meanwhile, Fulton moved to third on a passed ball, then took off running after another passed ball. Fulton made it home safely, putting Heights in front 2-1.
“We got Erik on first, and Sam hit one pitch, scored one run,” said Huskies coach JR Moffatt. “And it changed everything.”
“This is a big game, because it could be a make-or-break conference for us,” said Fulton. “We got a tough series next week against Cass, so this was a game we needed to come out here and win.”
That opened the floodgates. Sam Wahl drew a walk, moving Hickok to second. That brought Alex Hewitt up, and he smashed a triple into center field to score both runners. Hewitt didn’t have to wait long at third, as Andrew VanOeveren doubled him in with a left field hit. A center field fly out ended the inning, but the Huskies were ahead 5-1.
“It’s every pitch, every at-bat, every inning,” said Moffatt. “You just got to grind. You never know when it’s going to change. We start two freshmen and three sophomores. We’re really young, but we’re growing up fast. And you kind of see it here.”
Meanwhile, Dylan Zachary pitched a sensational game. He went six and a third innings for the win, only allowing five hits while striking out three. Brody Piel got the save, getting the last two batters out to clinch the victory.
“These conference games, we just have a different environment,” said Zachary. “We’re just pumped up in the dugout.”
“Dylan did a good job on the mound, kept it close,” said Fulton. “So it was important we got the offense rolling there late.”
The Huskies, now 6-4 overall, will host Pendleton Heights at 5 p.m. today, then turn their attention to their final conference series of the season, taking on Lewis Cass at home on Tuesday and away next Wednesday, May 1, in games that will likely decide the division champion, and who gets to play for the overall conference championship.
Hamilton Heights 5, Northwestern 1
Heights AB R H RBI
Luke Thesier 3 0 1 0
Lucas Letsinger 3 0 0 0
Erik Malott 3 1 1 0
Sam Fulton 2 1 1 1
Issiac Hickok 2 1 0 0
Sam Wahl 2 1 0 0
Alex Hewitt 3 1 1 2
Andrew VanOeveren 3 0 1 1
Sam Allen 3 0 0 0
Totals 24 5 5 4
Score by innings
Northwestern 001 000 0 – 1 5 3
Heights 000 005 x – 5 5 1
3B: Hewitt. 2B: Fulton, VanOeveren. SB: Van-Oeveren. HBP: Fulton.
Heights pitching IP R ER H
Dylan Zachary (W) 6.1 1 1 5
Brody Piel (S) 0.2 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Zachary 3, Piel 1. Walks: Zachary 4.
Hamilton Heights’ Dylan Zachary (4) pitched a big game for the Huskies, helping them to a 5-1 victory and Hoosier Conference sweep of Northwestern on Wednesday. Zachary pitched six and a third innings for the win; Heights scored five runs in the sixth inning to take control of the game. (Richie Hall)