Pikeville, KY – The Bears opened a three-game series against Bethel with a 3-1 loss Friday afternoon, crippled by runners left on base. UPIKE scratched their lone run on an error, totaling eight hits in the contest.

Ty Crall picked up the start and the loss, despite hurling seven solid innings. Crall allowed three runs (2E) on nine hits and struck out four, walking one. Grayson Harris came in relief for the final innings and held the Wildcats scoreless, giving up a pair of hits and sitting a pair down on strikes.

Tyler Maynard carded the only multi-hit game for the Bears in a 2-4 effort that included a run scored and a stolen base. Maynard leads the team with 33 hits, a .388 average, and a second best 15-RBIs. Noah Helton recorded a hit for the third straight game, poking a single in the eighth which then prompted an error by the centerfielder allowing Maynard to score.

The Bears got off to a solid start offensively with a leadoff single from Tyler Freas in the opening frame. Freas would advance to third after a hit from Maynard but was left on after Helton grounded into a double play.

Crall held the Wildcats scoreless through five innings as the two teams entered the sixth tied 0-0. Four hits from Bethel in the sixth led to their first two runs, before adding their final run in the seventh. The Bears couldn't rally in the ninth, leaving DeMarco Miller on base after he reached on an error.

The Bears look to bounce back tomorrow in a double header against the Wildcats starting at 12PM.