PIKEVILLE, Ky., - UPIKE baseball split a doubleheader with Bryan College Saturday.
Game 1: UPIKE 3, Bryan 4
Tyler Maynard got the Bears on the board early in the bottom of the first with a homer to right center. The Lions responded by scoring two runs just one frame later. Neither team scored again until the Bears started a rally in the fifth.
Tyler Freas led off the fifth with a double to left, then advanced to third after a productive out by Ryan Sartin. Freas then scored after Tyler Maynard hit a game-tying single. The Bears took the lead one inning later after Cam Revolt scored after a pinch-hit RBI double by Greg Lile. After six, the Bears led 3-2.
The Lions tied the game two innings later, then took a 4-3 in the top of the ninth. UPIKE was unable to get the offense going in the bottom of the ninth and lost 4-3. The Bears finished game one with three runs on seven hits and committed two errors.
Game 2: UPIKE 11, Bryan 10
Just like game one, the Bears got on the board in the bottom of the first. With two outs and no one on, Noah Helton drew a walk. Helton scored one batter later after Austin Gurney belted his fifth home run of the season to right field. The Bears did not stop there, however, because Tyler Maynard singled then got into scoring position after a wild pitch. Maynard then tapped the dish after an RBI single to right by Cam Revolt. UPIKE led 3-0 after one.
The Lions roared back and erased the Bears' three-run lead with three runs of their own in the top of the second. One inning after tying the game, the Lions took a 4-3 lead. BC's lead to not last long, as the Bears' offense had a big fourth inning.
Tyler Maynard led off the inning with a walk, then stole second and advanced to third after an errant play at second. Cam Revolt struck out, but reached base after a wild pitch, scoring Tyler Maynard and tying the game. The Bears loaded the bases after Francis Subero was hit by a pitch and an infield bunt single by Noah Brooks. Greg Lile checked in to pinch hit, and just like in game one, Lile had a productive at bat. Lile was hit by a pitch, scoring Cam Revolt. Francis Subero then scored after Ryan Sartin reached on a fielder's choice. Riley Paulino kept the scoring going after belting an RBI double to right center. Noah Helton gave the Bears an 8-4 lead after a sac-fly to center. The Bears hung five runs on the Lions in the fourth.
The Lions got a run back in the top of the fifth, then had a big inning of their own in the top of the sixth. BC scored five runs in the sixth and led 10-8. The Bears responded one frame later, starting with a leadoff single to left by Hunter Ferguson. Tyler Freas checked in the game as a courtesy runner. Two batters later, Noah Helton stepped up to the plate with Freas on first base and two outs. Helton tied the game with a two-run bomb to left field. The teams went to the seventh with the score knotted at 10-10.
Caleb Morrison kept BC off the board in the seventh, giving the Bears a chance to walk it off. Tyler Maynard belted a fastball to the gap in left-center but did not cross the plate, so the game went into extras. After Morrison retired the Lions in order in the top of the eighth, the Bears once again had a chance to in bottom of the eighth.
Hunter Ferguson led off the bottom of the eighth and reached base after getting hit by a pitch. Tyler Freas checked in to pinch run, then advanced to second after an infield single by Ryan Sartin. Both Sartin and Freas advanced bases after an error by the BC pitcher. The Bears loaded the bases after Riley Paulino drew a walk. Noah Helton grounded into a fielder's choice, then Austin Gurney popped out to short. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tyler Maynard stepped up to the plate with a chance to win the game. Maynard came through, drawing a walk on a 3-2 count to win it for the Bears.
Caleb Morrison got the win on the mound, recording 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and striking out two.
With today's split with the Lions, UPIKE's record now stands at 10-2 (4-1 AAC). The Bears and Lions will settle the series Saturday at Johnnie LeMaster Field. First pitch for game three is set for noon.
#BearDown
