EAST POINT, Ga. -- It was an even day on the diamond as the University of Pikeville baseball team and Point split a pair of contests on Friday. The Skyhawks came out on top 5-4 in nine innings in the opener, followed by the Bears hanging on for a 4-3 win in game two.

UPIKE outhit Point just 16-14 combined and both teams stranded four runners on base each in the closely-contested finale. The two one-run games are par for the course so far in Pikeville's young season where it has split all three opening doubleheaders.

Still, the win over Point is a resounding one for the improving program as the Skyhawks were participants in the 2016 NAIA World Series, the stage the Bears want a chance to play for soon.

The Bears (3-3) came close to a Friday sweep after scoring three runs in the final inning of game one to force extras, but ultimately two errors in the field proved too much to overcome, even with a defense that forced the Skyhawks (4-5) to leave 10 runners on base, compared to just one for the Bears.

UPIKE's pitching decisions were A.J. Carkner tallying a tough-luck loss in game one after allowing the winning run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Aaron Hedgecock improved to 2-0 on the season with a complete-game win in game two, scattering six hits for three runs with four strikeouts.

GAME ONE - Point 5, UPIKE 4 (9 inn.)

Pikeville continued its trend of early offense by taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Justin Beatty's single to shallow right that scored Josh Bailey. Behind the arm of Dalton Dahley, that lead held strong until the bottom of the fourth when Point struck for four runs on three hits.

A wild throw from Dahley to first brought home the first run, then a single, squeeze bunt and sacrifice fly did the rest of the work to get to the 4-1 lead.

Two scoreless frames later the Bears responded as three runs were scored on a double by Brandon Sewell, Matt Peterson single and by Jay Vincent reaching on a fielder's choice.

Dahley had lasted a little over four innings before James Brooks did a nice job holding Point for the next 1 2/3. Carkner pitched well as the game went into extra innings, allowing just three hits in nearly three innings of work until Point led off the ninth with a single, sacrificed the runner to second, then advanced by tagging up on a fly out.

Devario Allen's single through the hole at second ended up being the final blow as Levi Knight snuck in for the two-inning win after allowing just one hit and striking out two.

Bailey and Beatty each had three hits in the loss, including a pair of doubles from Bailey and one from Beatty.

GAME TWO - UPIKE 4, Point 3

The Bears once again found themselves with an early lead in the finale, this time by a 4-0 score after a single run in the third and three more in the top of the fourth. The three runs in the fourth were scored on three hits and helped by two Skyhawk errors.

The first run came home on Peterson's fielder's choice hit, followed by an RBI bunt from Alec Barba and RBI double to right by Jorge Perez.

Perez finished the game as the Bears' leader at the plate, collecting a team-high two hits.

Point gave its best effort to come from behind, tallying two runs in the fourth inning, then adding another in the fifth, but Hedgecock was too good down the stretch to give up the lead.

With two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth inning, Hedgecock got Chandler Green to pop out behind the plate to the catcher. Then in the seventh, Hedgecock recorded a strike out, fly out and ground out sandwiched around a single to bring the game to a close.

UP NEXT

UPIKE and Point will play one more on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in East Point.

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