PIKEVILLE, Ky. – A Sunday sweep of Alice Lloyd for the University of Pikeville baseball team evened its record at 4-4 on the season. Heavy rains forced the games to be played on the turf at Pikeville High School as the Bears wait for Johnnie LeMaster Field to dry out.
UPIKE outhit Alice Lloyd a combined 18-8 and got two strong starts from Bruce Bell and Jake Hamilton.
GAME ONE – UPIKE 6, Alice Lloyd 2
Bruce Bell had a strong outing on the mound, lasting just over five innings with 11 strikeouts and just two walks with three hits allowed in the win. However, one of the hits put the first crooked number of the scoreboard as Dalton Cornett's home run in the fourth inning put Alice Lloyd up 1-0.
The Bears failed to answer in the bottom of the inning, but made up for it one frame later with a six-run fifth. The toughest part for Eagle starter Will Hubbard, who left after four innings with a 1-0 lead, was that all six runs were scored with two outs.
Reliever Alec Carter had loaded the bases after Alex Barba hit an infield single down the third-base line with runners on third and second. It was too shallow for them to advance, but with two outs and an 0-2 count, Nelson Muniz delivered a double to put UPIKE up 2-1.
UPIKE went on to score four more runs on the two outs, including a 3-run homer by Matt Peterson and an RBI single by Brandon Sewell.
Alice Lloyd scored the only other run in the game as Bell opened the sixth with a strikeout, but walked his next batter. Ean Walda relieved him but struggled with control as well, leading to a run being walked in by Aaron Hedgecock after Walda exited as well.
UPIKE outhit Alice Lloyd 9-4 in the win with seven of the hits coming in the big fifth inning. Peterson led the Bears with three RBIs on two hits and Muniz drove in two runs on his one hit. Peterson, Muniz, Sewell and Jay Vincent all hit doubles.
GAME TWO – UPIKE 10, Alice Lloyd 1
It was a homecoming for UPIKE starter Jake Hamilton who played his high school career on the Hambley Athletic Complex turf. The Kentucky transfer didn't disappoint, earning the win after 4 1/3 innings of work with nine strikeouts and only one run allowed.
Max Hall and Chase Robinson pitched the final two innings and only allowed one hit each.
At the plate, the Bears outhit the Eagles 9-4, including Barba, Muniz, Jorge Perez and Kase Mattingly tallying two hit each. UPIKE had the only four extra-base hits as Peterson and Barba roped triples and Perez and Muniz both tallied doubles.
This time around it was the Bears enjoying an early lead as they scored three runs on three hits in the first inning. It started with Barba's one-out triple and he immediately came home on a double by Muniz. The other two runs scored on a double as well by Perez.
Alice Lloyd never recovered from the fast start as it scored its only run of the game on a sac fly to centerfield.
UPIKE added on to its lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings before exploding for five runs in the sixth. Alice Lloyd used three pitchers in the sixth inning alone and seven overall as they struggled with control, walking 10 batters with just three strikeouts.
UP NEXT
UPIKE is scheduled to host West Virginia Tech for a doubleheader at Noon ET on Tuesday dependent on field conditions. Any changes will be announced on UPIKEBears.com.
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