WILMORE, Ky. — Hank Burns and CJ Hussey powered eight hits combined on the day to lead Asbury (10-16, 5-4 CCS) to the rubber match victory over Huntingdon College (18-7, 6-3 CCS) 18-8 in Wilmore, Ky.

Asbury erased Huntingdon's brief lead with a decisive 11-run sixth inning Sunday and rolled to an 18-8 victory. After Huntingdon surged in front 8-7 with a seven-run fifth, the Eagles responded immediately, turning a back-and-forth game into a run-rule finish.

Huntingdon struck first in the opening inning when Brodie Holcomb brought home Blayne McDaniel on a groundout to first. Asbury answered in the second with five runs, taking control on Andrew Billington's two-out double that drove in three. The Eagles added two more in the third, with Hank Burns doubling to left to score a pair and extend the margin to 7-1.

The game shifted again in the fifth. Huntingdon sent seven runs across to grab an 8-7 lead, aided by multiple RBI hits and a pair of balks. 

The Eagles broke the game open in the sixth, sending 11 runs home to reclaim control for good. CJ Hussey delivered key production in the inning and finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. Burns also had a perfect day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs, while Billington went 2-for-3, walked once and drove in four runs, including the three-run double that started Asbury's early push.

Asbury finished with 14 hits and three walks, compared with 10 hits and two walks for Huntingdon. McDaniel paced Huntingdon's lineup by going 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Both teams committed one error.

Asbury's pitching staff worked through a turbulent fifth but closed the door from there thanks to 2.1 innings out of the pen for Levi Rogers. Rogers grabbed his first collegiate win allowing zero runs in relief. AU finished with seven strikeouts over seven innings while allowing eight runs on 10 hits.

The Eagles had turned a tense middle innings stretch into one of their most productive offensive frames of the day. Huntingdon did not score in the seventh.

Asbury takes on Centre College on Tuesday, March 31 in Danville, Ky., at 6 PM


* CJ Hussey | 4-5 , 3 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI
* Hank Burns | 4-4, 3 R, 2 RBI
* Levi Rogers | 2.1 IP, W (1-0), 5 K
* Andrew Billington | 2 H, 4 RBI, 2 R