Husson (7-8, 2-2 NAC) with the split ends a three game losing streak while Thomas (7-8, 3-3 NAC) which had defeated the Eagles in three-consecutive meetings saw their streak come to end with the game two lost and falls to 97-35 in the all-time series.
Game 1: Thomas 8, Husson 7
Thomas wasted no time securing the lead, as the Terriers took advantage of a hit batsman, five hits,
an Eagle miscue and a walk to take a 5-0 edge in the top of the first. Anree Benitez who was plunked by an errant pitch leading off the inning, scored on a Derek Kane triple to left center to put the Terriers on the board. Kane scored the Terriers second of inning off a drop ball by catcher Sam Huston after Zach Mathieu hit a ground ball to third baseman Ryan Rebar resulting in Mathieu reaching base on a fielder's choice.
Back-to-back hits by Nik Beeson and Alex Curtis loaded the bases and head coach Jason Harvey '06 had seen enough of his starter Robert Graff and went to his bullpen after Graff threw one pitch to third baseman Brett Sommers. Sommers earned a walk off newly entered Eagle pitcher Steven Hanscom that forced in Mathieu with the third Terrier run of the inning.
Beeson and Curtis made the game 5-0 on back-to-back hits by Joe Quinlan and Hank Vinall and once again Coach Harvey went to his bullpen this time for right-handed freshman pitcher Austin Smith. Smith got the Eagles out of the inning without any further damage when he got second baseman Aron Smestad and Benitez on back-to-back strikeouts and Kane to groundout to first baseman JT Whitten.
The Eagles respond right away in the bottom half of the inning when Andrew Curran was issued a lead off walked by starter Isiah Fleming, advanced to second on a Whitten single up the middle before scoring on a RBI single through the right side by Julien Boone. Both Whitten and Boone advanced to second and third off a single down the right field line by Rebar and Whitten scored on a RBI fielder's choice by Zach Sugar cutting the Terrier lead to three, 5-2.
Thomas added single runs in the second, the third and the fourth off a fielder's choice by Curtis, a double by Beeson and a wild pitch making the game 8-1.
Trailing 8-1 in the bottom of 5th, the Eagles scored five times on four hits and one Terrier miscue. Boone led off the inning with a single through the left side, advanced to second on Rebar's second hit of game, a single to right center and scored on two fielder's choices by Zach Sugar and Sam Huston.
Huston advanced to second after Fleming issued a walk to Christian Corneil before allowing a two-out two-run triple to right center to Cam Archer that resulted in his exit from game as head coach Greg King went to his bullpen for his closer Dominic Esposito. The first batter Esposito would face he allowed a two-run inside the park homerun to right center to Curran.
The Eagles would get the tying run on when shortstop Mike Wong reached first on a fielding error by Sommers. Wong stole second before Esposito got Whitten to groundout to Smestad to end the Eagle threat in the fifth.
Ryan Allender held Thomas scoreless in the sixth as the Eagles threaten the Terrier lead once again in the bottom half of the inning when Boone singled through the right side leading off, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rebar but Esposito stranded Boone at second on back-to-pack punch outs to Sugar and Huston.
Thomas would load the bases in the seventh with one out off a dropped third strike by Huston, a Kane single up the middle and a Mathieu single through the left side chasing Allender from the game. Husson closer Ben Holmes entered the game and got the Eagles out of the jam. He got Beeson to hit into a fielder's choice after Wong decided to get the forced play at home and stuck out pinch hitter Matt Romandetti on a called third strike.
Husson once again had another chance to tie the game up in the bottom of the seventh after pinch hitter Alex Chapman walked leading off the inning but Esposito got Archer to groundout, Curran to fly out and Wong to pop out to end the game.
For the Eagles, Boone went 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI, Archer was 2-for-3 with a three bagger and two RBI while Rebar added two hits to the Husson offense. Graff picked up his second lost on the season after allowing five earned runs on three hits. Smith pitched 3.0 innings of relief allowing two runs (one earned) off five hits with three punch outs. Allender yielded three hits, one earned run with a walk while fanning three over 3.1 innings.
For the Terriers, Beeson was 3-for-5 with a run, a RBI and a two-bagger, Kane was 3-for-4 with a three bagger, a RBI and a run scored while Quinlan and Vinal each had two hits apiece. Fleming pitched 4.2 innings to earn his first win of the season while allowing nine hits, six earned runs with three walks and three punch-outs. Esposito allowed two hits, one earned run with a walk while fanning two over 2.1 innings for his second save on the season.
Game 2: Husson 8, Thomas 1
Thomas jumped out to an earlier 1-0 lead when Husson starting pitcher Ben Walls issued a walk to third baseman Michael De Los Santo with the bases loaded.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of first, the Eagles got on the board with two runs off three hits and a Terrier miscue to take the lead. Curran lead off the inning with a double to left center, advanced to third on ground out to Smestad before scoring on a Whitten single up the middle. Whitten came around to score on a Boone single to right field.
The Eagles added two runs each in the third, the fifth and the sixth making the game 8-1.
For the Eagles, Huston was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and three RBI while Boone, Whitten and Curran each had two hits in the game. Walls (3-1) pitched a complete game six hitter allowing one earned run with three walks and three punch outs for the win. Whitten became the 18th Eagle player in program history with 150 or more career hits when he singled to left center in the bottom of the sixth.
For the Terriers, Mathieu was a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk while Kane, Beeson, Tristan Pena and Isaiah Arana accounted for the other four hits in the setback. Matt Rutherford (2-1) took the lost after yielding eight hits, four earned runs with a walk over 3.0 innings.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday, April 6th when they travel to Larry Mahoney Diamond for a 4:00 p.m. non-conference game with Saint Joseph's College of Maine while Thomas host the University of Maine at Farmington for a NAC doubleheader on Tuesday, April 5th. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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