Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion baseball team will look pick up a win in the opening round of the American Midwest Conference tournament as they face William Woods University Wednesday in a 2:00 PM match-up at Carnes Field.

COVERAGE

LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / TWITTER / BRACKET

AMC TOURNEY OPENING ROUND MATCH-UPS

Game 1 / 11:00 AM / No. 1 Missouri Baptist University vs No. 8 Lindenwood University-Belleville

Game 2 / 2:00 PM / No. 2 Freed-Hardeman vs No. 7 William Woods University

Game 3 / 5:00 PM / No. 4 Lyon College vs No. 5 Park University

Game 4 / 8:00 PM / No. 3 Central Baptist College vs No. 6 Williams Baptist College

FHU PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER

RHP Brandon Guske / Record- 10-2 / Innings Pitched- 96.0 / Hits- 64 / Walks- 10 / Strikeouts- 97 / ERA- 1.88

FHU PROBABLE LINEUP

Catcher: #30 / Joe Leatherwood / Sophomore / Bartlett, Tenn.
1st Base: #45 / Zac Carter / Senior / Memphis, Tenn.
2nd Base: #7 / Houston Looser / Junior / Muscle Shoals, Ala.
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: #1 / J.C Daily / Senior / Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Right Field: #14 / Garrett Ferguson / Senior / Brampton, Ontario

SETTING THE STAGE

FHU (38-15, 19-8 AMC) enters the tournament coming off two victories on the road at Lindenwood University-Belleville this past weekend. In their most recent outing on Saturday, April 30, the Lions pounded out nine hits and crossed the plate 14 times on their way to a shutout over the Lynx.

Jack Coleman (5-4) picked up the win after working five innings and allowing just three hits while striking out six. Kyle Douglas and Jared Humphry each provided a solid inning of relief as Humphry allowed no hits and struck out one while Douglas struck out two.

The Lions would stay quiet to start the game, but would eventually break through in the top half of the third inning, as Chase Young would connect on a 3-2 pitch and send it over the right field wall for a grand slam to give FHU a 4-0 lead.

Things would continue to click for the Lions in the fourth inning as Pete Trollinger and Houston Looser both crossed the plate to give FHU the 6-0 lead. The Lions would add eight more runs in the fifth inning to take a 14-0 lead and diminish any chance of a Lindenwood-Belleville comeback.

LAST TIME THEY MET

The last time FHU met William Woods was earlier this season on March 25-26 in Fulton, Mo., where the Lions came away with two wins in the series.

Brandon Guske picked up the win in the opening game of the series on March 25 after working all nine innings and giving up just two hits while striking out 10. The win for Guske marked the fifth time in seven starts he had shutout an opponent.

Guske wasn't alone in regard to impressive play as the Lions pounded out 16 hits to put the game away early on. Chase Young led the Lions at the plate as he went 5-for-5 on the day delivering four singles and a double in the win. Griffin Siebert also contributed at the plate as he went 2-for-4 on the day with two RBI's while Darcy Moore went 1-for-3 and pounded out 3 RBI's.

The Lions picked up a split with William Woods in the second day of the series as they pounded out an impressive 12 hits in the opening game to pick up the win. Darcy Moore led the Lions at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI's. Houston Looser was also solid at the plate as he went 3-for-4 and contributed two doubles and two RBI's to aid the Lions in the win. Nolan Huber picked up the win in the opening game after working all seven innings and allowing just six hits while striking out two.

However, despite pounding out 13 hits in the nightcap and playing solid on the defensive end, the Lions would come up just short in the second game with a 7-6 loss that took 13 innings to be decided.

Beau Caviness suffered the loss for the Lions after entering the game in relief of Jack Coleman following two innings of work by Jared Humphry. Coleman worked five innings and allowed just four hits while striking out three in the game. Despite picking up the loss for FHU, Caviness was solid on the mound as he worked four innings and allowed just four hits while striking out seven.

Garrett Ferguson led the Lions at the plate, as he went 2-for-5 on the day and contributed a home run and two RBI's to keep the Lions close the entire way. Chase Young went 3-for-6 in the nightcap and scored two runs for the Lions while Griffin Siebert went 3-for-5 and added one RBI in the loss.

SCOUTING WILLIAM WOODS

Record: 25-22 (11-15 AMC)
Conference: American Midwest
Location: Fulton, Mo.
NAIA Rank: Not Ranked
Head Coach: Craig McAndrews
Assistant Coach: Chris Fletcher
Assistant Coach: Alex Kazmierski
Average leader: Ryan Phillips (.443)
RBI leader: Jordan Dey (44)
Stolen Base Leader: Larry Price (17)
Strikeout leader: Ryan Phillips (95)