Matt Barker, Sports Information Director
HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion baseball team had to overcome an early two-run deficit Tuesday afternoon in their home opener against Martin Methodist College, but in the end the Lions prevailed with a 5-4 victory over the Redhawks at Carnes Field.
Sophomore Bryce Lester continued his strong start to the 2018 season, as he went 2-for-5 on the day with a double and an RBI while Wes Brooks followed suit and also went 2-for-5 with a double to give the Lions a spark.
Jacob Sawyers (1-0) secured the win for the Lions after working one inning and allowing just one hit while striking out two. Seth Selby and Beau Caviness also provided solid innings of relief for starting pitcher Reed Johnson in the win.
The Lions (2-3) pounded out 11 hits in the game compared to Martin Methodist (3-1) who scattered eight hits in the loss. Terry Morris led the Redhawks at the plate and went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI to keep MMC in the game down the stretch.
The Redhawks struck first in the game, as they put together a two-out rally in the top of the second inning to gain some early separation. Drew Love got the inning started with a single to third base and later reached second on a stolen base. Terry Morris also reached base in the inning with a two-out walk. Designated Hitter Kenneth Embrey would take care of things from there, as he pounded out a single to right field to put the Redhawks up 1-0. Morris also crossed the plate in the inning to tally another run for the Redhawks after Garrett Brewer singled to center field to put MMC up 2-0.
FHU; however, kept Martin Methodist quiet from there, as the Redhawks went scoreless through the next five innings, courtesy of solid pitching from the Lions. FHU began to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Lester got the Lions on the board after reaching on a single to left field and scoring off an RBI single from Kaimana Ancog to close the gap to one run at the 2-1 mark.
The momentum continued for the Lions in the bottom of the sixth inning, as they tallied three more runs to take a 4-2 lead. Isaac Howeth crossed the plate first for the Lions in the inning following an RBI groundout by pinch hitter Josh Sears. Griffin Siebert also crossed the plate in the inning following an RBI single from Cam Palmeter to give the Lions a 3-2 lead. Collin Baber plated the final run in the inning for the Lions after pinch running for Palmeter and scoring on an RBI double by Lester to give FHU a two-run cushion at the 4-2 mark.
The Redhawks; however, would not go down without a fight, as they pushed across one run in the seventh inning, as Garrett Brewer crossed the plate following a walk with the bases loaded to pull MMC within one run before the inning was over. The eighth inning was much of the same for the Redhawks, as they plated another run following an RBI double by Terry Morris to score Rob McMasters to even things up at four apiece.
However, despite the late rally, the Lions were up for the challenge, as they were able to put together a solid ninth inning of their own to come away with the win. Joe Leatherwood got the inning started with a bang, as he doubled down the left field line to put the game-winning run in scoring position. From there, the Redhawks intentionally walked Aden Campbell and Kaimana Ancog to load the bases with two outs. Cody McSwain, pinch hitter for De'Mikyle Holmes, would take care of things from there, as he pounded out a single to left-center field to score the game winning run and give FHU the 5-4 victory.
With the win, the Lions move to 2-3 on the season. Martin Methodist College falls to 3-1 on the season with the loss.
UP NEXT: The Lions are back in action Friday, February 9th, as they host Shawnee State University for a 1:30 PM match-up followed by a 4:00 PM game against Midway University at Carnes Field.
