CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Campbellsville Tigers kicked off their home series against the Madonna Crusaders with a doubleheader on Friday. The Tigers were able to take care of business, winning game one 3-0 and game two 9-6.

Game One: Campbellsville 3, Madonna 0

​On the mound for the Tigers in game one was Garrett Maloney, making his fifth start of the season. After being named Mid-South Pitcher of the Week last week, Maloney looked to continue his dominant run for the Tigers. Maloney set the tone for another outstanding performance in the first inning, picking up two strikeouts without allowing a hit.

​The Tigers' offense was sat down in order following Maloney, which brought the righty back out to continue in the second inning. The Crusaders threatened with a runner in scoring position after back-to-back one-out singles. Maloney stayed composed and did the rest, stranding both base runners with a groundout to himself and a strikeout.

​After the Crusaders threatened early, the Tigers followed suit in the bottom of the second inning. Antony Gilbert and Bret Bowers led off the inning with a pair of singles, and Tanner Park's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up. James Teets kept the line moving as he reached on an error by the third baseman, scoring Gilbert and moving Bowers to third. Jaxson Grubbs got the job done with a ground ball out that scored Bowers, putting the Tigers up 2-0.

​Maloney retired nine of his next 11 batters faced, allowing singles in the fourth and fifth innings. The righty finished his five shut-out innings with six strikeouts, giving up five hits and no walks.

​The Tigers went quietly in the third inning but threatened to score again in the fourth, as Gilbert and Teets both reached with singles. Unfortunately, the offense stranded both of them. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Yosuke Fujie connected with a solo home run to left field, adding on with his seventh bomb of the season.

​With a tight ballgame in the sixth inning, the Tigers called for Joe McBride to take over for Maloney, making his sixth appearance. After striking out his first batter, McBride gave up a double to right field. Though the runner was able to advance to third with a fly ball to right field, McBride was able to strand him with a ground ball to second base.

​As the Tigers looked to add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Park gave them a shot with a double torched to the left-center gap. Park was left stranded, which brought McBride back to the mound to close out for the Tigers. After getting the leadoff out, the Crusaders found things interesting as McBride brought the tying run to the plate with a pair of walks. Although a groundout advanced both runners, McBride completed the shut-out with a fly ball to right field.

​The Tigers took game one with three runs on six hits with two errors, while the Crusaders were shut out with five hits and an error.

Game Two: Campbellsville 8, Crusaders 6

​Tristin Crusenberry got the nod in game two for the Tigers, making his fifth start of the season. After a rough outing last week, Crusenberry looked to bounce back with a quality start against the Crusaders. The righty set the tone in the first inning, hanging a zero and picking up a couple of strikeouts.

​Besides a two-out single from Zane Skansi, the Tigers didn't get anything going in the first inning, bringing Crusenberry back out for the second. Crusenberry walked the leadoff hitter but responded with a strikeout that allowed the runner to steal second. A passed ball moved the runner to third, then another walk and stolen base gave Crusenberry two men in scoring position with one out. The righty almost escaped the jam, but a two-out single plated both runners before the inning's end.

​With the offense sat down in order in the bottom of the second inning, Crusenberry was back on the mound with short rest to begin the third. Crusenberry began the inning with a walk but retired the next two hitters. The Crusaders' catcher displayed his power with a two-run home run into the wind, putting the Tigers down 4-0 and ending Crusenberry's outing early. The Tigers called for Ryan McFarland out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding, and the righty brought the team back to the dugout with one pitch.

​In the bottom of the third inning, Henry Wright gave the Tigers another scoring opportunity with a one-out double to right-center field. The Tigers' offense was still unable to get anything going, as Wright was left stranded.

​Trying to avoid their second loss of the day, the Crusaders continued to add to their lead in the fourth inning. Back-to-back one-out singles gave McFarland runners at the corners, and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Though the righty responded with a strikeout, the Crusaders were able to capitalize with a two-RBI single before the end of the frame.

​Still scoreless through three innings, the Tigers' offense needed to cut into the lead. Skansi led the inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Gilbert put the Tigers on the board with a double down the right-field line. Clutching up was Park, who drove Gilbert in with a single to left field. Though Grubbs could pass the torch with a two-out single, the Tigers would have to settle for two runs in the inning.

​McFarland continued on the mound in the fifth inning and ran into trouble after a leadoff walk stole second base. An errant pickoff attempt allowed the runner to advance to third base. The Crusaders tried to add to their lead with a small ball, but a failed squeeze attempt and a great play by McFarland left them empty-handed.

​Running out of time to come back, the Tigers decided to do so in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fujie got the offense going with a leadoff double to left-center field, and Trent Buchanan moved him to third with a single. Skansi followed up with a single that scored Fujie, and Gilbert joined the party with a single that scored Buchanan. Bowers walked to load the bases, and Park was plunked to bring Skansi home. As the Crusaders were still unable to collect an out, Teets moved everyone up with another RBI single. Wright added another run for the Tigers, grounding into a fielder's choice and scoring Bowers. A passed ball brought Park home to cap off a huge six-spot for the Tigers.

​Taking the game into the sixth inning was McFarland, needing to hang a big zero for the Tigers. Though the Crusaders could move a one-out single to third base, McFarland was able to strand the runner with his third strikeout.

​Unable to add to their newly acquired lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers looked for Ethan Wood to take over on the mound for McFarland. After striking out his first batter, Wood surrendered a single, but Teets hosed the runner trying to steal second. Wood finished the inning with another strikeout.

​Not comfortable with the two-run lead, the Tigers aimed to add on in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bowers started it up with a single and was pinch-run for by Brock Brubaker. Park followed up with another single that got by the center fielder and moved the runners to second and third with no outs. After a shallow fly ball could not score Brubaker, River Terry loaded the bases with a pinch-hit hit-by-pitch. Wright did his job and plated Brubaker with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Tigers a 9-6 lead.

​Wood was back to work on the mound in the eighth inning and retired the first two hitters with ease. Things got hairy for Wood after a walk and hit-by-pitch, but the righty was able to strand the runners with his fourth strikeout.

​Buchanan's lone single was all the offense managed in the bottom of the eighth inning, bringing PJ Ledesma to the mound to close out for the Tigers. Ledesma surrendered a one-out single, but collected the final two outs for the save.

​The Tigers won game two with nine runs on 15 hits with one error, and the Crusaders lost with six runs on eight hits and one error.

​The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, March 8th, with another doubleheader to finish the series against the Madonna University Crusaders. The games are set to begin at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET.

• Friday's match-up was the first time the two teams had seen each other in five years, and the Tigers hoped to build on their success.
• The Tigers and the Crusaders first played in 2019, followed by another game in 2020. Campbellsville lost both of those games.