PIKEVILLE, Ky. – For the second time this season, the University of Pikeville baseball team has won a Mid-South Conference series after splitting with Lindsey Wilson at Johnnie LeMaster Field on Saturday.
The Bears won the opener in come-from-behind fashion 9-7 before falling 7-4 in the nightcap. UPIKE claimed the series win by topping the Blue Raiders 10-2 on Friday.
With the split, UPIKE moves to 26-21 overall and 7-11 in MSC play while Lindsey Wilson is now 22-26 overall and 8-9 in league action. With the regular season in the rearview mirror, attention now shifts to the MSC Championship starting on Thursday at the Bowling Green Ballpark.
While the official bracket has not been announced, it's assumed that UPIKE will claim the No. 6 seed and open the postseason against No. 3 Cumberland (Tenn.).
UPIKE barely outhit the Blue Raiders in game one, 13-12, and committed a pair of errors, but an offensive explosion in the eighth inning made up for it.
The Bears entered the eighth down 4-2 when Lindsey Wilson pulled starter Kelvin Guzman for Brandon Wilson. Wilson's introduction wasn't friendly as Matt Peterson homered off him to lead off the frame. The shot to left field provided the momentum for Alec Barba to tie the game with a 2-out single to centerfield.
The success with two outs continued as Luke Lubiniecki hit a single to left for the go-ahead score, followed by Kase Mattingly roping a 2-run single after Peterson was intentionally walked to get to him.
The Blue Raiders nearly completed a comeback in the ninth, starting with Ben Heideman doubling in a run to make it 9-5. Brandon Sewell entered in relief with one out and walked his first batter before getting a pop out for the second out. A triple by Tyler Maskill made it 9-7, but that's where the threat ended as Jordan Gardner hit a fly out to left to end it.
Dalton Dahley started the game for UPIKE and allowed four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings before handing the game over to Chase Robinson in the sixth. Robinson allowed two runs on two hits to collect the win and improve to 3-0 on the season.
Guzman's start lasted seven innings for Lindsey Wilson, allowing two runs on six hits along the way. But reliever Tanner Roberts allowed the tying and go-ahead runs in 2/3 of an inning to take the loss and drop to 1-1.
Lubiniecki and Peterson both went 3 for 4 to lead the Bears at the plate.
Lindsey Wilson built another early lead in game two, going up 3-0 in the top of the second. Only this time, there was no comeback as LWC added two more runs in the third and sixth frames to preserve the lead.
Down 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth, the Bears scored two runs on four hits and an error. The scoring all came on two outs as well, starting with Lubiniecki's RBI single to left, followed by Jacob Alverado singling home a run in the next at bat to make it 5-4.
That's as close as it got though as Lindsey Wilson added two runs on four hits with two outs in the sixth inning, making the score 7-4 which is where it stayed the rest of the way.
Chase McKinney (1-2) took the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in a start that lasted just two innings.
Lubiniecki, Muniz, Jay Vincent and Travis Haen all finished with two hits each with Lubiniecki leading the way with two RBIs.
-UPIKE-
