Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion baseball team picked up a split Friday on the road at Lindenwood University-Belleville as they dropped the opener 5-2, but followed it up with an impressive 5-4 victory in the nightcap.

Brandon Guske (10-3) suffered just his third loss of the season in the opener after working six innings and allowing 14 hits. Guske recorded just three strikeouts in the game as the Lynx crossed the plate five times to pick up the 5-2 win.

The Lions (37-15, 18-8 AMC) struggled at the plate, managing just four hits in the opener while Lindenwood-Belleville seemed to have no trouble, as four players had multi-hit games for the Lynx.

The Lions would get things started first in the bottom half of the third inning, as they would score their only runs of the game. Griffin Siebert crossed the plate first for FHU after reaching on a walk and scoring off a sacrifice fly by J.C. Daily. Joseph Leatherwood would also cross the plate in the inning to put the Lions up 2-0 after he reached on a single to the infield and scored off an RBI single by Chase Young.

However, two runs would be all the Lions would muster in the game, as Lindenwood-Belleville would take over at the plate. The Lynx would push one run across in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Chuck Terron would score off an RBI single from Jason Roberts to close the gap to one run at the 2-1 mark.

Lindenwood-Belleville (16-37, 9-17 AMC) would do a majority of their damage in the bottom half of the sixth inning, as four runs would cross the plate to give the Lynx a three-run cushion, which would be all they needed to take home the 5-2 victory in the opener.

The nightcap would be a different story for the Lions as they pounded out eight hits and did just enough to pick up the 5-4 victory to split the Friday series.

Nolan Huber (8-1) picked up the win after working nine full innings and striking out seven batters for his eighth victory of the season.

In one of his first games back since suffering a broken hand, J.C. Daily proved there was nothing broken with his swing as he went 2-for-4 on the day with a double to lead the Lions at the plate. Daily also led the Lions on the base paths as he swiped three bases in the nightcap to bring his total to 32 stolen bases on the year.

The Lions would get their scoring drive started early as Chase Young and Zac Carter would both cross the plate to put FHU up 2-0. However, a four-run third inning for the Lynx would eliminate FHU's cushion and force the Lions to overcome a two-run deficit at the 4-2 mark.

Daily would close the gap to one run in the top half of the fourth inning, as he reached on a single to the infield and stole second base and third base to put himself in scoring position. A wild throw by Lynx pitcher Drew Fair would be all the slack Daily needed to reach home and close the gap at the 4-3 mark.

FHU would add two more runs in the top of the eighth inning to give the Lions a 5-4 lead after a pair of doubles by Zach Quillian and J.C. Daily would score Chandler Monajeem and Griffin Siebert. Five runs would prove to be just enough to split the series with the Lynx in the nightcap.

With the split, the Lions move to 37-15 on the season and 18-8 in conference play. Lindenwood-Belleville moves to 16-37 on the season and 9-17 in conference play.

UP NEXT: The Lions conclude their series with Lindenwood-Belleville Saturday as they play a single nine-inning game beginning at 12:00 PM in Belleville, Ill.