The Highland Hawks allowed just one hit in the last five innings of play against Hamilton on Friday night, but nine runs from the Huskies in the first two innings held up in the 9-6 victory over the Hawks in the Desert Vista Baseball Tournament.

The Huskies’ quick offense and early mistakes from Highland gave Hamilton a five spot and a four spot in the first two innings. The Huskies were aided by two balks in the same at-bat from Hawks starting pitcher Ben Watson, along with sloppy defense behind him. 

“We can’t give up nine runs on only a couple hits,” Highland manager Erik Kehoe said. “We had a couple of monumental errors that put us behind.”

Facing a seven-run deficit, Kehoe gave the nod to junior Mason Greenman in the third inning, and momentum started to build for the Hawks. Greenman did not allow a hit in his two innings of work and he was confident about it. 

“I had to come in and give my team a boost,” said Greenman.”I knew they couldn’t hit off me, and I knew we had a chance.”

Freshman Buddy King replaced his upperclassman in the fifth inning. King’s three innings of one-hit pitching almost landed him in line for the win. 

“The energy started to shift,” Hawks third baseman Simon Hoffmann said. “We started getting fast outs on the field and we had fixed approaches at the plate.” 

Hoffmann was vital to the team’s comeback hopes. The senior went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Both of his hits came within the last two innings.

The Huskies’ starter, sophomore Logan Saloman, kept the Hawks in check during the Huskies’ early scoring outburst. Saloman retired 12 straight batters after a first-inning hit. The sophomore only allowed one hit in three innings of work, using his fastball primarily. 

“I knew coming into the game he would throw fastballs,” Kehoe said. “We didn’t hit them until the later innings.”

Senior pitcher Drew Woody, who was the Hawks' designated hitter on Friday, put the Hawks’ first two runs on the board in the second, with two-out contact that was misplayed by Hamilton. Woody finished the game 1 for 4 with a single in the sixth inning.

“We won the rest of the game, and then had the winning run at the plate,” Kehoe said. “I was proud of our bench, we stayed in the game.”

Both teams will finish tournament play Saturday. Highland will face Desert Mountain for the first time this season, Kehoe’s former team.