Hitchcock Leads Huskies to Win

Story Courtesy of Dom Donnelly, Tusculum Sports Information

GREENVILLE, TN--Preston Hitchcock (Laceyville/Wyalusing) went 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs as Bloomsburg University defeated host Tusculum College 6-5 Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Park in college baseball action. The Huskies (5-6) gain a split of the two-game series, while the Pioneers fall to 20-9 on the year and suffer only its third home loss in 17 tries this season.

Bloomsburg posted 10 hits and capitalized on five Tusculum errors in the win.

Bloomsburg starter David Rute (Milton/Milton) picked up his second win of the season as he tossed six innings, allowed four runs, two earned, walked two and posted three strikeouts. Paul Culbertson (Downingtown/Downingtown West)pitched the final three innings as he scattered three hits, allowed a run, walked two and fanned one to earn his first save of the year.

Bloomsburg got on the board first as Hitchcock led of the game with a double and later scored on a throwing error to go up 1-0. TC answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning as Michael Gonzalez drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Christian Rosa's fourth double of the season.Both would score on Webb's deep fly out to center field to give TC a 2-1 lead.

That lead was short-lived as the Huskies plated three unearned runs in the next inning thanks to a catcher's interference call and back-to-back, two-out, run-scoring singles by Hitchcock and Matt Robinson (York/Red Lion).The Huskies added another scoring tally in the fourth frame, when Nick Lerch (Selinsgrove/Selinsgrove) hit a two-out single, stole second and scored on a throwing error to move the Huskies out to a 5-2 advantage.

Tusculum trimmed the deficit to 5-4 with a pair of runs in the fifth inning as Marc Hyndsman reached on an error, moved to third on Hudgins' fifth double of the year and scored on a fly ball by Feliz. Hudgins would cross the plate himself when Gonzalez doubled him home, his fifth of the season.

Rute settled down and retired eight of his final nine batters and Culbertson got out of jam in the eighth as TC had runners at first and second, before getting a ground out to get out of the inning.

Bloomsburg added an insurance run in the ninth inning when Vinnie James (Bristol/Bristol) got aboard with his fourth double of the year and scored on Matt Allen's (DuBoistown/ South Williamsport)two-out single.

Tusculum made it interesting in the ninth inning when pinch-hitter Aaron Porter reached on a single and later scored on a Feliz triple, his fourth of the season. But Feliz was left stranded at third when Culbertson got Gonzalez to fly out to end the game.

Bloomsburg will be at Lincoln Memorial University this weekend for a three-game series, beginning with Friday's 5 p.m. single game.