Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

O'FALLON, Mo. - The Freed-Hardeman Lion baseball team continued their impressive start to the 2017-18 season Friday evening, as they pounded out 17 hits and 11 runs to take down Hannibal-LaGrange 11-1 in their series opener in O'Fallon, Mo.

Jared Humphry (4-3) continued to dominate on the mound for the Lions, as he picked up his fourth win of the season after working a complete game and allowing just two hits and no earned runs while striking out four. Humphry was consistent on the mound, as he issued just one walk in the 26 batters he faced in the match-up.

In addition to impressive pitching, the Lions (20-12, 10-6 AMC) had plenty of help at the plate, led by Cody Duncan, who went 3-for-4 on the day with two doubles and three RBI. Wes Brooks also got in on the hitting frenzy with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with one homerun and two RBI while Bryce Lester went 2-for-5 with a triple and four RBI in the win.

Despite taking the loss in the series opener, Hannibal-LaGrange (7-21, 2-11 AMC) got on the board first with one run in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Nick Diaz De Leon pounded out one of HLGU's two hits in the game with a double to deep right field and scored later in the inning following a misplayed grounder by FHU to put the Trojans up 1-0 early on.

However, despite falling behind early, the Lions more than made up for it the remainder of the way, as they pushed two runs across in the second inning and four more in the fifth inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead. From there, the Lions finished the game with two runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh inning to cruise to an 11-1 victory.

With the win, the Lions move to 20-12 on the season and 10-6 in conference play. Hannibal-LaGrange falls to 7-21 on the season and 2-11 in AMC play with the loss.

UP NEXT: The Lions conclude the three-game series against Hannibal-LaGrange Saturday with a double-header slated for 3:30 PM in O'Fallon, Mo.