COLUMBIA, Ky. -- UPIKE baseball has now won six of its last eight games after bookending the team's series at Lindsey Wilson with wins.

Game 1

The Bears were able to take the weekend's first game behind an absolute gem from starter Bruce Bell. Bell threw seven scoreless innings while giving up only three hits, and striking out seven.

Bell barely let the Blue Raiders get a sense of being able to score, not letting a runner pass second base in his entire start.

UPIKE used a four-run second inning to get a big early lead. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with only one out. Jacob Alvarado and Luke Lubiniecki each drew walks, then Jay Vincent hit a two-RBI double to give the Bears a 4-0 lead. Pikeville added three runs in the fifth on a three-run home run from Brendan Halstrom.

Lindsey Wilson made a comeback attempt once Bell exited the game. LWC hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, and put the real scare in the ninth inning. The Blue Raiders drew two walks then hit a three-run home run to get the UPIKE lead to 7-4 with no one out. Then two straight singles scored another run.

The Bears called on Aaron Hedgecock and he was able to shut the door and earn the save for a 7-5 Pikeville win.

Game 2

The second game of Thursday's doubleheader was one to forget for the Bears as Lindsey Wilson rallied to a 15-2 lead and eventually held on 15-10.

LWC roughed up starter Brady Cappe for 10 runs in 3-plus innings of work. He got through the first two innings without an incredible amount of damage, just a 3-0 lead for the Blue Raiders. UPIKE got that lead to 3-1 after John Duff led off the third with a double and Alvarado followed with an RBI single.

The big chunk of Lindsey Wilson's rally began in the third when it struck for five runs off of just one hit, a grand slam from Austin Rayno. LWC repeated that effort in the fourth with seven runs on seven hits, complete with another home run from Rayno.

Pikeville trailed 15-3 heading into the seventh, but did not go down quietly with a seven-run inning of its own. Pastor Sanchez got the rally going with a two-RBI double, then Duff did the same two batters later.

Tyler Menrath, Lubiniecki, and Shane Williams each had RBI knocks before the Blue Raiders finally closed the game.

Game 3

At the onset, it appeared Friday's rubber match had the same feel as the game prior, but Pikeville scored 11 unanswered runs to win the series and end the weekend with a 12-6 win.

Lindsey Wilson jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings, but Pikeville chipped away at the lead before throwing a haymaker in the sixth to take the lead.

UPIKE got things started with a three-run fourth inning, where all the scoring came off a three-run home run from Lubiniecki, his second of the season. With that bomb, the Bears had cut the lead to 6-4.

The Bears kept the long ball working in the sixth when Jay Vincent led off the inning with a solo shot to right. Pikeville kept the rally going behind him, loading the bases with one out. After a no-out fielder's choice scored another run, two runs scored on a Blue Raider error to give Pikeville its first lead. Lubiniecki followed with a two-RBI single, his fourth and fifth of the game, to finish off the scoring and extend the lead to 10-6.

Pikeville added two insurance runs in the eighth on RBI singles from Vincent and Dillon O'Grady, but Hedgecock had come in and shut the door again for an old-fashioned three inning save to secure the victory.

UP NEXT

UPIKE will be back in action on Tuesday for a road doubleheader against Alice Lloyd, starting at 2 p.m.

-UPIKE-