NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The No. 22-ranked IU Southeast baseball team split a doubleheader with Huntington University on Friday, in the Grenadiers' 2017 home opener.
Game one featured the long ball as Tanner Leenknecht and Cody Maloon hit home runs for the Grenadiers.
IU Southeast (4-4) trailed 1-0 after the top of the 1st as Dalton Combs hit a leadoff home run for the Foresters. The Grenadiers responded with a five-run bottom of the frame behind a two-run single from Maloon and a three-run home run from Leenknecht.
Cody Maloon led off the third inning with a solo home run to left-center. Julian Flanary followed with a double and later scored on a sacrifice bunt from Zach Reboulet.
The Foresters (2-4) came back with three runs in the fifth inning but the Grenadiers kept them at bay by taking on two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. After Flanary singled and then stole second, a double by Logan Barnes brought him in and that was followed by a single from Zach Reboulet to extend the IUS to 9-4.
Huntington would add three more runs in the top of the sixth and then scratch across a run in the top of the 7th to make it a one-run game. After Andrew Natividad doubled to put runners at second and third with one out, a wild pitch from Gage Rogers made it a 9-8 with a runner at third. Rogers got back-to-back strikeouts to slam the door for his first save at IU Southeast.
Cody Maloon went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. Nicholas Lugo and Julian Flanary each had two hits.
Brandon Nylin picked up his first win of the year. Tanner Wyse took the loss and Rogers got the save.
In game two, the Grenadiers got on the board first when Maloon singled to drive in Matt Volz.
But the Foresters would score a pair in the top of the second when Michael Crowley hit a two-run home run to left-center. Huntington would add runs in the sixth and seventh to make it a 4-1 lead and the game was called at the start of the bottom of the seventh due to severe weather.
Matt Volz had two hits in the loss. Dax McLochlin got the win for Huntington and Hector Marmol picked up the loss for IU Southeast.
Saturday's games have been canceled due to the impending weather so IU Southeast is next back in action on Wednesday when they host Marian for a nine-inning game at 3 p.m.
