Matt Barker, Sports Information Director
LEWISTON, IDAHO - The Freed-Hardeman Lion Baseball team continued their historic run Wednesday evening, as they picked up an 11-7 victory over Georgia Gwinnett College to advance to the Finals of the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
After falling to Southeastern (Fla.) Tuesday evening, the Lions (47-15) came out on a mission and pounded out 13 hits and plated 11 runs to take down the No. 2 ranked Grizzlies.
De'Mikyle Holmes led the Lions at the plate, as he went 4-for-5 on the day with a home run and three RBI in the win. In addition to his stellar play behind the plate, FHU Catcher Joe Leatherwood had one of the best hitting performances of his college career, as he went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI in the victory. Kaimana Ancog also recorded a multi-hit game in the contest, as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three scored runs.
Connor Creasy (9-0) got the start for the Lions and pitched a gem, as he worked 6 and 2/3 innings and allowed just eight hits and two earned runs while striking out five. FHU used a variety of relievers to finish out the game, as Collin McPherson, Seth Selby and Beau Caviness combined for 2 and 1/3 innings of relief in the win.
The Grizzlies got on the board first in the match-up, as Walter Coursey crossed the plate after reaching on a misplayed grounder by Dylan Lott and scoring on an RBI single by Alex Garland to put GGC up 1-0 following one inning of play.
However, the Lions responded with two runs of their own in the top of the second inning, as Aden Campbell got the inning started with a single to right field and found his way around the base path following an RBI single by Ancog to even things up at one apiece. Griffin Siebert also crossed the plate in the inning after reaching on a walk and scoring on a ground out by Leatherwood to put FHU up 2-1.
The Lions continued their hot hitting in the top of the fourth inning, as Holmes got the inning started with a solo home run over the center field wall to put FHU up 3-1. Three more runs crossed the plate in the inning, as the Lions found their stride at the plate to pull ahead 6-1 midway through the game.
FHU added two more runs to their total in the top of the fifth inning, as Holmes scored his second run of the game following a sacrifice fly by Leatherwood to put the Lions up 7-1. Ancog also crossed the plate in the inning following an RBI double by Lott to give FHU an 8-1 advantage.
The Grizzlies got one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Jordan Tylski pounded out a solo homerun over the right field wall to pull GGC within six runs at the 8-2 mark. However, Creasy got out of the inning without any further damage after retiring the Grizzlies in order following the solo home run.
The hot hitting continued for the Lions in the top of the sixth inning, as Holmes connected on an RBI single to left field to score Brooks and Campbell and put FHU up 10-2.
The Grizzlies; however, would not go down without a fight, as they responded with five unanswered runs throughout the seventh and eighth innings to close the gap to three runs at the 10-7 mark. Tylski got the scoring drive started for GGC in the seventh inning with a double to deep center field, where he scored from following an RBI single by Coursey to make it 10-3. GGC completed their scoring drive with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to close keep them within striking distance entering the final inning of play.
The Lions added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to four runs at the 11-7 mark. Ancog got the inning started with a single to the infield and found his way around the base path following Leatherwood's second RBI double of the contest to answer the scoring drive made by the Grizzlies in the previous inning.
FHU stuck with veteran closer Beau Caviness for the final inning of play and he did not disappoint, as he retired the Grizzlies in order to secure the 11-7 victory and send the Lions to the Finals of the NAIA World Series.
With the win, the Lions move to 47-15 on the season and advance to the World Series Finals, where they will face the winner of Lewis and Clark State (Idaho) and Southeastern (Fla.) Thursday evening in Lewiston, Idaho.
