PIKEVILLE, Ky. - UPIKE baseball was swept in a doubleheader by Johnson University Saturday. The Bears drop to 8-9 on the season and will be in action again on Tuesday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. road game against Lindsey Wilson.  

Game 1: Johnson 6, UPIKE 3 

Johnson scored three in the opening frame. UPIKE got one back in the second frame after an RBI single by Hunter Ferguson to get the Bears on the scoreboard. Leading 3-1, the Royals doubled their lead with a two-run home run by Bryson Shown. 

Two innings after the Royals took a 5-1 lead, Garren Gledhill flew out to right field and Francis Subero tapped the dish to make it 5-2. One inning later, the Bears had a golden opportunity to get back in the game with the bases loaded but came away empty-handed. The Royals and the Bears scored one each in the ninth and the Royals clinched the series victory with a 6-3 win.  

Noah Brooks, Gledhill, Revolt, and Ferguson had two hits each and combined for eight of the Bears' ten hits. Despite recording ten hits, UPIKE struggled mightily in run support. Ten UPIKE baserunners were left stranded in game one.  

Game 2: Johnson 11, UPIKE 3 (8 innings) 

Just like they did in games one and two, Johnson plated a run in the top of the first. No scoring happened for either team until the bottom of the sixth. With a runner on third and two outs, Revolt singled to center, scoring Austin Gurney and tying the game at 1-1.  

Johnson countered with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to go up 3-1. In the final frame, Francis Subero led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple to right, then scored two batters later after a sacrifice fly by Riley Paulino. UPIKE's next three batters drew walks to tie the game at 3-3 with the bases loaded and a chance to walk it off. The Bears were unable to walk it off and the game went to extras.  

The Royals poured it on the Bears in the top of the eighth, scoring eight runs on five hits. Johnson went on to win game three and sweep the series.  

#BearDown