May 7, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The (20) Freed-Hardeman University Lions collected eight more hits than their opponents but still came up on the losing side of a 9-7 Mid-South Conference Championship semifinal to the (RV) University of the Cumberlands Patriots.

FHU (35-14, 19-15 MSC) fell behind in the first inning but bounced back with a two-run fourth inning. After Kent Rooklin found green space in right field, Ryan Stark followed with a single of his own. A double steal set up both Lions in scoring position for the hot-batted Mason Libla who did not disappoint with a single down the left-field line to score both Rooklin and Stark.

The University of the Cumberlands Patriots (42-13, 18-6 MSC) looked to defend their conference tournament crown by putting up three runs in the top of the fourth inning to retake a 4-2.

The Lions; however, battled right back with Will McCall (11) blasting a leadoff home run to draw the Diamond Lions within one run. Zach Sanders and William Kelley continued the rally with a single and a double, respectively, to give Rooklin the first of his RBIs with a sacrifice fly to score Sanders. Stark followed with a single under the glove of the Patriot third-baseman to plate Kelley to give the Lions a 5-4 lead. With Stark standing on third, the Patriot reliever's first offering sailed to the backstop to give Stark plenty of space to score the Lions' fourth run of the inning.

A long ball off the bat of the Patriots to start the fifth inning boded bad tidings for Freed-Hardeman. UC would put up five runs in the top of the sixth inning to jump ahead 9-6, stunning the Lions who were held scoreless until the bottom of the ninth inning.

Rooklin's second RBI of the day was a leadoff bomb, his fourth of the year, that barely eked past the left-field pole to send a breath of momentum into the Lion dugout. Stark and Beecham both followed with singles. With no outs, Coach Jonathan Estes was forced to make a tough decision, pinch-hitting for the big bat of Mason Libla to play small-ball hoping to move the runners into scoring position. Fortune favored the Lions when a 1-0 pitch went wild to move the tying run into scoring position, allowing Estes to send his catcher back to the plate. The FHU breaks ended there, with the Patriot closer shutting the door with back-to-back strikeouts and a fly-out to end the game with a 9-7 final.

"What an emotional game," sighed Coach Estes. "I'm very proud of the way we battled all night, we just came up a little bit short at the end. We've got a lot to play for tomorrow. We will bounce back and be ready to go."

Connor Creasy (5-2) took the loss in a start that saw him toss five innings, striking out four while giving up seven hits. Alex Huey came to the bump in relief, tossing four innings and shutting down the Patriot bats for three hits.

"Alex did a great job coming out of the pen. It's a role he hasn't been used in this year," said Estes. "I thought he did a good job of executing pitches and keeping them off-balanced with his entire arsenal."

Hitting was not an issue for the Lions who tallied 18 hits as a team, with McCall, Rooklin, and Stark each going 4-for-5 on the night. 

Up Next

Freed-Hardeman will drop to the consolation bracket final, battling the winner of Cumberland (Tenn.) and Campbellsville (Ky.) for the opportunity to set up a rematch of the 2021 Mid-South Championship Final. The Lions will play either the Phoenix or the Tigers tomorrow, May 8, at 1:00 p.m. with the conference final slated for 5:00 p.m. An if-necessary game is scheduled for Monday, May 9.