BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Following the mercy-rule victory against Lindsey Wilson, the Campbellsville Tigers faced off against the Freed-Hardeman Lions in another elimination game at the Mid-South Conference Tournament. The Tigers were swept by the Lions in the regular season and knew they would have a challenging game ahead. The Tigers stayed alive in the tournament and won the game 4-3 with a pitching duel.

​Tristin Crusenberry took the mound for the Tigers, making his 11th start and 12th appearance of the season. With the Lions' offensive explosion against the Tigers in the regular season, Crusenberry would have to bulldog up and shut them down. The righty set the tone for his outing in the first inning and retired the side in order.

​In the bottom of the first inning, Trent Buchanan got the offense going with a one-out single through the six-hole. With two outs, Antony Gilbert moved him over with another single through the six-hole to heighten the threat, but both runners were left stranded.

​Crusenberry continued on the bump in the top of the second inning and kept his rhythm. The righty retired the first two batters with a pair of flyouts, plunked the third batter, but then locked back in with a strikeout for the third out.

​Tate Wischnack led off the bottom of the third inning with a line-drive double to the base of the left-center field wall. With one out, Tanner Park reached on an error by the third baseman, and then Jaxson Grubbs singled to right field to load the bases. After the Lions collected the second out, Buchanan came up big time with a double to deep right center field that brought everybody home.

​Now chasing a deficit, the Lions looked to cut into the lead in the top of the third inning. Crusenberry continued on the mound and surrendered a leadoff single, and then an errant pickoff attempt and a passed ball allowed the runner to reach third base. The next batter put the Lions on the board with a sac-fly to center field. From there, Crusenberry regained his rhythm and retired the next two batters while picking up a strikeout.

​Other than a two-out infield single by Wischnack, the Tigers' offense couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the third inning. Crusenberry continued on the mound in the top of the fourth inning and retired the first batter with a groundout. The righty walked the next batter and picked up the second out with a flyout. The runner on first base swiped second, and then the Lions cut into the lead with an RBI-single to left field before the inning ended.

​The Tigers went quietly in the bottom of the fourth inning, bringing Crusenberry back out for the top of the fifth. The righty retired the first two batters with another pair of groundouts and then surrendered a single to center field. The Lions continued their threat on the basepaths, and the runner stole second immediately. The next batter tied the game with an RBI-double to right-center field. Crusenberry was able to limit the damage and leave the runner stranded with a lineout to right field.

​Looking to regain the lead, the Tigers' offense tried to punch back in the bottom of the fifth inning. Zane Skansi worked a one-out walk, and then Yosuke Fujie ripped a two-out single to move him over, though both men were left stranded.

​PJ Ledesma took over on the mound for the Tigers in the top of the sixth inning, making his 14th appearance of the season. The lefty was dominant out of the bullpen and retired the side in order.

​The Tigers threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Park and Grubbs worked back-to-back walks with one out, and then Lorenzo Gonzalez smoked a single to right field. Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn't capitalize and left the bases loaded.

​Ledesma continued on the mound in the top of the seventh inning and surrendered a leadoff double. The next batter attempted to bunt the runner to third base, but Grubbs came up with a perfect throw to third that hosed the runner. Ledesma then picked off the runner at first base and finished the inning with an emphatic strikeout.

​Gilbert got the offense going in the bottom of the seventh inning with a one-out infield single and found himself standing on second base after the throw went up the first base line. Fujie followed up and put the Tigers on top with a clutch RBI-triple tattooed off the center field wall. The one run was all the Tigers managed in the inning as Fujie was left stranded.

​Ledesma went back out for the top of the eighth inning and struck out the first batter. The Lions threatened with a double down the left field line, and then the Tigers made a pitching change. Logan MacNiel took over for Ledesma, making his 14th appearance of the season. After walking the first two batters he faced, MacNiel found his groove and retired the next two batters with a strikeout and a pop-fly.

​In the bottom of the eighth inning, Grubbs picked up his second hit of the day with a single to center field. Gonzalez followed up with a picture-perfect bunt down the third base line for a single, advancing Grubbs to second. Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to add to their lead and left both men stranded.

​MacNiel continued on the mound in the top of the ninth inning and surrendered a leadoff single. The next batter hit a tailor-made double-play ball to second base, though the Tigers were only able to get the out at second base. MacNiel walked the next two batters he faced to load the bases, and the Tigers were forced to dig deeper into their bullpen. Chase Tucker took over on the mound in hopes of securing the victory. On the second pitch he threw, a line-drive was hit to right field and caught by Wischnack. As the runner tagged from third base and tried to score, Wischnack showed off the cannon and delivered a perfect one-hop throw to Gonzalez at home to hose the runner and end the game.

​The Tigers won the game with four runs on 12 hits and one error, while the Lions lost the game with three runs on seven hits and two errors.

​The Tigers advance to the semi-final game of the Mid-South Conference Tournament, where they will face the Cumberlands Patriots on Saturday, May 3rd. With bad weather in the forecast, the game is set to begin at 4 p.m., though it may likely be adjusted.