Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

MCKENZIE, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion baseball team will take a break from conference play Tuesday as they face former TranSouth rival Bethel (Tenn.) University for a 3:00 PM match-up in McKenzie, Tenn.

SERIES SLATE

Tuesday, April 19- Lions at Bethel- Single 9-Inning Game beginning at 3:00 PM

COVERAGE

LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / TWITTER

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER

LHP Jack Coleman / Record- 4-3 / Innings Pitched- 53.1 / Hits- 57 / Walks- 18 / Strikeouts- 35 / ERA- 4.56

PROBABLE LINEUP

Catcher: #30 / Joe Leatherwood / Sophomore / Bartlett, Tenn.
1st Base: #45 / Zac Carter / Senior / Memphis, Tenn.
2nd Base: #15 / Ethan Mayberry / Junior / Lexington, Tenn.
3rd Base: #11 / Griffin Siebert / Sophomore / Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Shortstop: #6 / Nate Van Nortwick / Senior / Olive Branch, Miss.
Left Field: #10 / Pete Trollinger / Senior / Nashville, Tenn.
Center Field: #14 / Garrett Ferguson / Senior / Brampton, Ontario
Right Field: #28 / Darcy Moore / Sophomore / Sharon Ontario

SETTING THE STAGE

FHU (34-11, 16-5 AMC) enters Tuesday's match-up coming off a series sweep of Harris Stowe State University this past weekend. It only took seven innings to take care of Harris Stowe in the series opener as Brandon Guske continued his impressive season on the mound to aid the Lions in an 11-1 win.

Guske (9-2) worked seven complete innings in the win and allowed just five hits while striking out two. The 6-4 pitcher from Spring Hill, Tenn. worked through the Hornet lineup quickly as he faced just 25 batters in the game.

However, the pitching wasn't the only thing to write home about, as the Lions stepped up at the plate as well, pounding out 13 hits in the game. Ethan Mayberry led the Lions at the plate, as he went a perfect 3-for-3 in the game and added four RBI's in the win.

Nolan Huber (7-1) picked up the win in the opening game Saturday after working seven full innings and allowing just five hits while striking out five. Zac Carter led the Lions at the plate as he went 2-for-3 in the game and contributed a homerun and four RBI's in the win.

Although the Lions pounded out just six hits in the game, they were able to capitalize on each one, as they put together a five-run second inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Zac Carter contributed all four of his RBI's in the second inning to help the Lions pull away.

The scoring flurry continued in the nightcap Saturday, as the Lions pounded out an impressive 17 hits on their way to a 16-9 victory over the Hornets.

Beau Caviness (6-3) picked up the win for the Lions, after coming in for relief of Jared Humphry, who gave up five runs after working one and one-third innings on the mound.

Caviness worked five full innings for the Lions and fanned six batters to pick up his sixth victory of the year. Casey Overturf picked up the save after working two and two-thirds innings and striking out four.

Carter continued to lead the Lions at the plate in the nightcap as he went 3-for-5 in the game and added another homerun and four more RBI's to his total. For the Saturday series, Carter pounded out two homeruns and eight RBI's to lead the Lions in the sweep.

STATS (LAST SERIES)

Lions at Harris Stowe (Friday Game 1)

Lions at Harris Stowe (Saturday Game 1)

Lions at Harris Stowe (Saturday Game 2)

SCOUTING BETHEL UNIVERSITY

Record: 23-16 (8-10 SSAC)
Conference: Southern States Athletic Conference
Location: McKenzie, Tenn.
NAIA Rank: Not ranked
Head Coach: Rusty Thompson (9th year)
Assistant Coach: Nick Thompson (9th year)
Assistant Coach: Eric Patton (9th year)
Average leader: Gadier Charriez (.459)
RBI leader: Zachary Crocker (36)
Stolen Base Leader: Christian Padin (20)
Strikeout leader: Axel Cruz (47)

LAST TIME THEY MET

The last time FHU faced Bethel was earlier this season on March 29, where the Lions came away with a 5-3 victory at Carnes Field. Jared Humphry was solid on the mound as he picked up the win after working six innings and allowing just one hit while striking out three. Houston Looser continued his strong play as he led the Lions at the plate, going 2-for-4 on the day with two RBI's.

The Lions would cruise through six innings with no trouble as Humphry limited Bethel (18-10, 4-5 SSAC) to just one hit while FHU had no trouble at the plate. FHU pressed one across in the bottom half of the fourth inning as Pete Trollinger crossed the plate off a single through the hole at shortstop by Houston Looser to put the Lions up 1-0.

However, FHU would do a majority of their damage in the bottom of the sixth inning, as they batted through the order to score four more runs to gain a commanding 5-0 lead. Trollinger, Zac Carter, Looser and Darcy Moore would all cross the plate in the inning to give the Lions a cushion.

The cushion would prove to be needed in the final three innings of play, as a late charge by Bethel would make things interesting. The Wildcats would begin their comeback in the top of the seventh inning as Kyle Douglas came in relief of Humphry to help close things out. Douglas would struggle throughout the inning, as he allowed two earned runs.

Jordan Newby would also attempt to slow down Bethel's late charge in the inning after coming in relief of Douglas, but he would also give up one run, which allowed Bethel to close the gap to two at the 5-3 mark.

Casey Overturf would come in relief of Newby and get a much-needed strikeout to get the Lions out of the inning with no more damage. Overturf would also pitch solid in the eighth inning, striking out one and picking off Bethel's Clayton Parker at first base to end the inning and keep FHU on top 5-3.

Beau Caviness would take care of the Wildcats from there in the ninth inning, as he picked up his second save of the season to allow the Lions to pick up the 5-3 victory.

AMC BASEBALL STANDINGS