PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The weekend got off to a rough start on Friday for UPIKE baseball as the Bears dropped the series opener to Mount Vernon Nazarene, 9-3.

The game started off well for the Bears as they scored a run in the first and the second innings to build an early 2-0 lead.

UPIKE got on the board early with as a hit batter, single, and wild pitch combining for a run in the second, while an RBI single from Dillon O'Grady extended the lead in the third.

The Bears offense nearly matched the Cougars' in terms of numbers of hits, with MVNU outhitting UPIKE 10-9. The issue came with the grandiosity of the Cougars' hits. MVNU led Pikeville in total bases 22-11 despite just the one-hit margin.

Mount Vernon's first haymaker blow came in the fourth when, with a run already scored in the inning, Cameron Miller hit a towering home run to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-1 lead.

With that inning, MVNU ended up scoring all nine of their runs unanswered to close out the win.

Pikeville's final run came in a ninth inning rally of pinch hitters and pinch runners with John McKenzie plating the run on an RBI single. Ty Menrath and Ronaldo Tijero each had two hits in the contest to lead the Bears.

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UPIKE will close out the series on Saturday with a doubleheader against MVNU starting at noon at Johnnie Lemaster Field.

-UPIKE-