Fort Myers, Fla. – March 12, 2022 – Hiram baseball capped off their play in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic with a 6-2 win over Otterbein on Saturday morning.
Hiram struck first in the top of the first inning with
Curtis Caithaml hitting an RBI single bringing in
Cody Wilson making it 1-0.
Freshman
Jack Conley was on the bump for the Terriers making his first collegiate start. Conley shut down the Cardinals lineup in the first two innings, but Otterbein answered back.
In the third frame, Luke Barber hit a sacrifice fly scoring Ryan Grant that tied the game at one apiece.
After a quiet fourth inning between both teams, Barber duplicated his third inning hitting another sacrifice fly, this time giving Otterbein the 2-1 lead after five innings.
The Hiram offense answered quickly, however, with a big sixth inning.
Connor Bansek,
Kyle Workman and
Hal Walker Jr. all reached base with the Terriers looking to bring runs across the plate.
Aidan Jantz picked up an RBI walk after pinch-hitting for
Curtis Caithaml tying the game at two.
Chaisson Marrs followed the walk up with an RBI single, giving Hiram the lead back at 3-2.
Michael Corsillo extended the lead with a big two-run single with the Terriers now up in front at 5-2.
The combo of
Robert James and
Zachary Scalf put away the Cardinals hitters in the sixth and seventh innings with the Terriers holding their lead.
Jacob Kocuba came in for Scalf in the eighth inning and pitched the remainder of the game giving up no runs.
In the ninth, Bansek scored on an error giving Hiram an insurance run at 6-2, which would prove to be the final score.
At the plate, Walker Jr., Bansek and Marrs all had two hits. Corsillo added two RBI with Bansek also picking up two runs scored.
Conley's final line included five innings pitched with three strikeouts as the freshman picked up the win. The combination of James, Scalf and Kocuba went four scoreless with five total strikeouts, four of which came from Kocuba as he also earned his first save.
Hiram now sits at 2-6 with the team returning home to play a plethora of games over the next week. The Terriers next play on Wednesday, March 16 at Thiel with first pitch at 2 p.m.
