GAME DAY INFORMATION

No. 4 UPIKE vs. No. 2 Campbellsville

Location: Bowling Green, Ky.

Venue: Bowling Green Ballpark

Date/Time: Fri., May 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET

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Bracket

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UPIKE: So. RHP Aaron Hedgecock (6-1, 3.69 ERA) / Jr. LHP Dalton Dahley (5-2, 4.75 ERA)

CU: Sr. RHP Nick Przybylek (7-3, 3.53 ERA) / Sr. RHP Indalecio Romo (4-1, 2.09 ERA)

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Win that first game, it's a commonly heard phrase when you get to this stage of a double-elimination, four-team bracket. A win keeps you on the fast track to a title, while a loss puts you just one game away from elimination.

The University of Pikeville and Campbellsville will decide who gets to start the Mid-South Conference Baseball Tournament Final Site on a good note when they meet at 2 p.m. ET on Friday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

The Tigers are the top seed after receiving a bye in the opening round by winning the MSC Regular-Season title, while the Bears are the No. 4 seed after beating Lindsey Wilson 2-1 in a best of three series last weekend.

Joining them in Bowling Green is No. 2-seed Cumberlands and No. 3-seed Georgetown.

Win or lose the teams will play just one game on Friday. With a win, UPIKE would play again at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, while a loss would have then playing at 4 p.m.

If you win two straight games in this bracket you are done until Sunday's championship, but it will take two wins in the loser's bracket on Saturday to make it out.

Georgetown was the only team to sweep its opening-round series, winning two games to none against Cumberland (Tenn.). Both Cumberlands and UPIKE had to get it done in three.

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES

UPIKE and Campbellsville met in the middle of march in Pikeville with the Tigers claiming the series 2-1. The Bears won the first game 8-4, but went on to lose 2-1 and 5-4 in 13 innings in the final two contests. In its win, UPIKE got two hits each at the top of the order from Josh Bailey and Travis Haen and Aaron Hedgecock allowed three runs on seven hits to collect the win.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Keep an eye on UPIKE's Anthony Roberts in this one. The senior has been a monster in the last six games, all against the strong arms of Lindsey Wilson, hitting five home runs to help the Bears take five of six from the Blue Raiders.

On Campbellsville's side, Romello Carbuccia will be important to keep quiet at the plate. He is batting .313 with a team-best six home runs while reaching base at a .415 clip. Carbuccia has speed as well with 11 doubles, a triple and 13 stolen bases in 16 attempts.

THE STEADY RISE OF THE BEARS

It's worth mentioning the work this UPIKE team has put in to get to the point where it is challenging for MSC Tournament titles. From 2008-2012, UPIKE won just 29 games in five seasons. Heading into Friday's tilt with Campbellsville, the Bears are sitting at 26-22 overall, giving them at least 25 wins in the last two seasons.

PITT BEST TWO-YEAR MARK IN PROGRAM HISTORY

UPIKE head coach Jim Pitt is in his second season at the helm and has already posted the most wins for any Pikeville coach in their first two seasons. Pitt went 25-23 last season and with 26 wins this year, he has 51 overall. Johnnie LeMaster, who the Bears' home field is named after, is next in line with 44.

-UPIKE-