KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Freed-Hardeman baseball coach Jonathan Estes held off on throwing his No. 1 pitcher in the Lions' elimination game on Wednesday morning in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.

The decision paid off, mainly because Jack Coleman pitched like a No. 1 starter.

Coleman (8-2) spun a three-hitter, helping four early FHU runs hold up as the Lions advanced with a 4-1 win over Judson (Ill.) at Hunter Wright Stadium. The win was Freed-Hardeman's first-ever in the national tournament.

The junior left-hander had a no-hitter through five innings before Judson's Frank Oliver broke up both the no-hit and shutout bid with a solo home run to lead off the sixth. But it didn't shake Coleman, who retired the next three batters in the inning and didn't allow a runner to advance past first base the rest of the way.

By contrast, Judson starter Ryan Perez dealt with control issues early and FHU took advantage. Houston Looser led off the bottom of the second inning with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Garrett Ferguson and then took third base and home plate on a pair of Perez wild pitches.

Early walks issued in the third and fourth innings also turned into runs for Freed-Hardeman as Looser's sacrifice fly brought in Pete Trollinger in the third. Trollinger then delivered a two-run single in the fourth to double the Lions' lead.

Perez (4-1) issued six walks and threw five wild pitches in four innings before being relieved by Eagle ace Andrew Bergmann. Bergmann shut the Lions down for the remaining four innings, but it didn't matter thanks to Coleman's performance on the mound. Coleman needed just 103 pitches to go the distance, striking out one and walking one.

Trollinger and J.C. Daily both had two hits for the Lions. Trollinger also drew two walks, reaching base safely four times in five at-bats.

The Lions (36-15) advance to face fourth-seeded LSU-Alexandria at 5:00 PM CDT today. Judson ends its season with a record of 40-20.

NOTES AND NUMBERS: FHU is now 1-3 in games at the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round after today's win…Coleman's complete game was his second nine-inning complete game of the season. His previous time to go the distance saw him toss a two-hit shutout against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) on Feb. 28…The Lions' 36 wins are the second-most in a season under Estes. The Lions won 38 games in 2013 but didn't qualify for nationals.