Late runs help No. 10 Providence come from behind at No. 14 Hough
You had to check your phone to make sure it wasn't late May.
In what felt like a playoff environment at Hough, Providence baseball battled back from a first inning deficit to take a lead in the seventh and knock off the Huskies 3-2.
The pitching matchup was a sign of things to come. Vanderbilt recruit Tyler Baird turned in 5.2 strong innings for Hough while UNCW commit Brady Thompson buckled down after the first and earned some big outs in his 3.1 IP for Providence.
Three batters into the bottom of the first, the Huskies had a 2-0 lead. Matthew Nesta and Jaxon Matthews singled to start things, then came around to score after Jake Minarik roped a double into the left field corner.
From that point on, the Panthers' pitching staff of Thompson and Parker Jensen would throw seven shutout innings.
Providence quickly answered back with a run on an infield single from Thompson. In the bottom of the second, he would load the bases on the bump but escape the jam with a big strikeout.
Jensen entered the ball game with Nesta on first and one out in the fourth. The lefty promptly picked the runner off and froze Matthews with an off-speed pitch to avoid damage.
Jackson Debe got the Providence offense going in the top of the sixth with a four-pitch walk and stolen base. Brody Slone drew a one out walk, and Michael Rinaldi earned a free pass to load the bases.
Baird punched out Thompson for the second out, but lost his command one final time with a game-tying walk handed out to Bo Witherspoon.
Holden Phillips inherited a bases loaded jam, but pitched his way out of it to keep the game tied 2-2.
Hough got a runner into scoring position in its half of the sixth, but Jensen struck out two more before spinning around and nabbing Jaxon Keeling too far off of second to end the inning.
Jaxson Haynes opened the seventh with a fortuitous bounce off of the infield dirt that paved the way for a lead-off double. A textbook swim move allowed him to slide safely into third base for an all important steal.
Haynes broke for the plate on a suicide squeeze attempt with two strikes on Josh Jones. Jones was up to the task by executing a perfectly placed bunt single to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
Facing the top of the Hough order, Jensen slammed the door in the bottom half of the frame to secure Providence its eighth straight victory.
The Panthers are 17-3 overall, and 10-0 in conference play. They have another big Mecklenburg County showdown on Friday night as Ardrey Kell pays visit.
Hough dropped to 15-4 this season but continues to hold on to a 12-0 record in league play. The Huskies will embark on a regular season ending series against Hopewell with a non-conference matchup against South Mecklenburg sandwiched in-between.
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