PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- UPIKE baseball opened its Mid-South Conference season this weekend against Cumberland and after a strong start, ended up dropping the series

Game 1

UPIKE opened the weekend with a 10-7 win after a strong outing from starting pitcher Bruce Bell. Bell threw eight innings while surrendering just six hits with 10 strikeouts, a season-high for the senior.

The Bears got on the board early with a run scored on a throwing error in the first. One inning later, two more Phoenix errors resulted in two more runs and Pikeville held an early 3-0 lead.

Bell only faced some adversity in the third and fourth innings, when Cumberland was able to tie the game. The Phoenix scored a run in the third after a wild throw on a double play attempt, and then twice in the fourth on back-to-back wild pitches.

After that, Bell was lights out for the rest of his outing, giving up just two more hits.

The Bears then launched out to a 10-3 lead after scoring twice in the bottom of the fourth and five times in the sixth.

Jay Vincent had an excellent day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Luke Hartlage had two RBIs to go with his two hits, while Tyler Menrath and Luke Lubiniecki also had multiple hits.

Cumberland tried to mount a comeback in the ninth off Aaron Hedgecock, scoring four times, but he was able to close out the game and get conference play off on the right foot for UPIKE.

Game 2

The first game of Sunday's doubleheader was a game of basketball-style runs, a contest the Phoenix would end up winning 14-9.

After four serviceable innings from starter Peyton Dove, Cumberland figured out Dove in the fifth, scoring five times to take a 7-1 lead. Pikeville scored its run on a Luke Hartlage single in second.

However after falling behind, UPIKE came back with six unanswered runs, five in the sixth inning to tie the game. The Bears sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth inning, receiving RBIs from Lubiniecki, Vincent, and Anthony Houk. Pikeville also scored on a wild pitch and while the defense was in a rundown.

Cumberland sent the dagger later though with a seven-run eighth inning to go up 14-7. The Phoenix had 11 batters come up in the inning that required three Pikeville pitchers.

UPIKE scored twice in a comeback effort, but the gap was too big to overcome.

Game 3

Cumberland's momentum continued into Saturday's second game, an 11-1 Phoenix win.

The visitors stepped on the gas early and got to Bears' starter Brady Cappe. Before the Bears got to bat in the second, they already faced a 4-0 deficit.

UPIKE's lone run in the game came on an RBI single from Luke Hartlage in the fourth.

Cumberland put the game out of reach in the sixth with a grand slam from Pablo Custodio, who had seven RBIs in the game.

The Bears could only muster five hits off of Phoenix starter James Hatcher, who pitch a complete seven-inning game. He struck out eight Bears in the contest.

UP NEXT

The Bears won't have to wait too long to get the bad taste out of their mouths as they'll travel to the outskirts of Johnson City, Tenn. to take on Milligan in a mid-week doubleheader on Tuesday starting at 1 p.m.

-UPIKE-