CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville continued their series against the Freed-Hardeman Lions Sunday afternoon. The Tigers split the afternoon as Coach
Beauford Sanders picked up his 1,000th win at Campbellsville University.
GAME ONE: Campbellsville 8, Freed-Hardeman 1
Garret Maloney started on the mound for the Tigers. Maloney's first inning of pitching resulted in three grounds outs to retire the half inning. The Lions returned in their next at-bat, looking for revenge. Freed-Hardeman collected a couple of hits to gain one run.
Campbellsville suffered two outs early on in the bottom of the second. Jorge Gonzalez walked, followed by a single from Kale Sietz. The Tigers capitalized on a passed ball the Lions threw and scored a run to even the score.
The pitchers continued to duel for several innings, not allowing either team to get ahead. The Tigers' bats heated up though in the bottom of the sixth inning. Chad McCann collected his first RBIs, batting in Logan Verble and Alex Castaneda, to put Campbellsville ahead. The Tigers continued to bat down the lineup and rack up runs. Grant McQueary singled through the right side to score twice more. Josiah Clark followed suit with another Tiger RBI. Banta stepped up to the plate with bases loaded. Banta's triple pushed the Tigers to an 8-1 finish.
Jacob White and Seitz finished batting 1.000 in their one-plate appearance. Banta and J. Gonzalez finalized .500 in the batter's box, aiding the team's .318 batting average. The Tigers' pitchers settled a .677 strike percentage, which reigned above the Lions' .598 strike percentage.
GAME TWO: Campbellsville 2, Freed-Hardeman 4
The Tigers struggled to reach the bases in their first attempt at the plate. The Lions did not suffer the same obstacles as they put up four runs resulting from their three hits. Campbellsville cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the third inning. McQueary and Castaneda reached the bases on walks. The Tigers capitalized on a wild pitch as McQueary crossed the plate and Banta sent a ball up the middle to bring another runner across.
Kacey Cheek worked on the mound for the Tigers and he solidified five strikeouts in his four innings. The Lions held Campbellsville to zero hits in the fourth and fifth inning. In later frames, Noah Amenta and Sietz singled to center field, but nothing came from it. Henry Wright and J. Gonzalez collected a couple of singles in the final inning but were also unsuccessful. Neither team scored any more runs, and Campbellsville fell short in game two.
Sietz finished batting 1.000 again in game two. Amenta and Wright followed up with .500 going 4-2. Campbellsville finished just above the Lions on the mound. The Tigers' four pitchers finalized a .630 strike percentage, while Freed-Hardeman tallied a .612 strike percentage.
Head Coach Beauford Sanders earned his 1,000th win as Campbellsville University's head coach this afternoon. After today's competitions, Sanders's Campbellsville record sits at 1000-663 (.601).
Campbellsville will travel Highway 55 to Lindsey Wilson College Friday afternoon. The Tigers will compete in a series against the Blue Raiders beginning March 31st at 3 p.m. ET.
