UPIKE Baseball splits with Campbellsville in close games
0By Mason Blair
The University of Pikeville baseball team avoided a sweep at No. 20 Campbellsville by winning 5-4 in the finale on Friday, April 6. The Bears nearly won both games of the doubleheader but ended up losing the opener 10-9 on a walk-off hit.
With the split, UPIKE moves to 20-14 overall and 4-5 in the Mid-South Conference.
Up next for the Bears is a doubleheader with Cincinnati Christian on Tuesday, April 10 at Johnnie LeMaster Field.
In game one, UPIKE led 9-2 in the top of the third inning after tallying four runs in both the second and third frames. But the scoring stopped there and the Tigers continued a consistent attack that ended with them scoring two go-ahead runs in the bottom of the ninth.
UPIKE starter Aaron Hedgecock lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He allowed his last run in the bottom of the fifth, making it only a 9-5
for the Bears.
Dalton Dahley entered the game in the ninth inning in search of a save with a 9-8 lead, but was only able to record one out in the frame. Dahley walked his first batter, then hit the second. A bunt by Tyson Solis failed to be fielded for an out, loading the bases before an out could be recorded.
The early lead for UPIKE was helped along by Nelson Muniz who drove in two runs with a single in the second before smashing in three runs in the third with a double to left center.
Muniz, Matt Peterson and Haen paced the Bears with two hits each in game one.
Muniz stayed hot in game two, going 2-for-2 to drive in a pair of runs while also drawing a pair of walks. That, along with Haen going 3-for-3 with a run scored, helped the Bears overcome a 4-0 deficit in the last three innings. The Bears got their bats hot in the seventh as three more runs scored on four hits. Muniz delivered the first two tying runs on a single and Peterson added an RBI single to take the lead.
UPIKE’s comeback started in the fifth inning as it scored two runs on three hits, including a sac fly by Jacob Alvarado.
Reliever Chase Robinson preserved the 5-4 lead with a ninth inning that included allowing just one walk. Robinson took the win to improve to 2-0 on the season with a shutout final four frames that included giving up just one hit.