The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk baseball team (1-3-1) dropped its three-game road series against No. 2 ranked Louisiana State University-Eunice (LSU-Eunice) over the weekend, falling, 7-1, Friday and losing two decisions, 10-1 and 10-0, Sunday.
In Friday’s series opener, NPC fell behind early and could not keep up. The Bengals took a 1-0 lead in the third inning and padded their lead with three runs in the fifth, two runs in the seventh and their final run in the eighth inning. Trailing, 7-0, in the top of the ninth inning, the Nighthawks avoided the shutout with an RBI double from sophomore pinch hitter Jimbo Batchelor (Senoia, Georgia), but could not muster enough offense to complete the comeback.
Freshman hurler Wesley Campbell (Fountain Lake) got the start for NPC, allowing four runs on seven hits over four and one-third innings, striking out four. Batchelor, freshman pinch hitter Landon Hennan (Choudrant, Louisiana), freshman third baseman Josh Lumsden (Denton, Texas) and freshman shortstop Que Walton (Atlanta, Georgia) led NPC at the plate with one hit apiece, in the loss.
Trailing, 2-0, after three innings in Sunday’s opener, NPC got on the board with a fourth-inning leadoff homerun from freshman right fielder Max Kluesner (Weston, Florida). LSU-Eunice responded with eight runs over the next three innings, padding the lead, 10-1. The Nighthawks loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning, but could not rally back in defeat.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ian Holm started the game for National Park College, allowing seven runs on eight hits over five innings, striking out four. Batchelor, Hennan, Kluesner, Walton and sophomore pinch hitter Slayter Watkins (Huntsville) collected one hit apiece in defeat.
Held to just two hits in the series finale, NPC struggled to keep the Bengals at bay. LSU-Eunice took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and poured on the offense later in the game, with two runs in the fourth inning, three runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and a walk-off RBI single in the seventh inning to end the game via run rule.
On the mound, NPC sophomore pitcher Eli Hutcherson (Cabot) gave up three runs on four hits over four innings, striking out four. Walton and freshman left fielder Justin Mitchem (Benton) recorded one hit apiece in the loss.
NPC plays host to Dallas College-Richland in a double header Friday, February 9, beginning at 12 p.m. at Majestic Park in Hot Springs. [np.edu/live]The games will be streamed live on the Nighthawk Network.
For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk Athletics online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
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