May 8, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Freed-Hardeman University Lions punched their ticket to the Mid-South Conference Championship final in addition to earning an automatic bid to the 2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round with a 13-0 defeat of the Campbellsville (Ky.) University Tigers.

Freed-Hardeman (36-14, 19-5 MSC) plated at least one run in each of the first six innings to cruise to victory. After singling through the right side, Sean Rooney showed heads-up baserunning. Standing on second and knowing that a double-play would end the inning, Rooney took off on first contact and never looked back. Zach Sanders hit a weak grounder to second base and beat out the throw to first, seeing Rooney touch home on the fielder's choice.

The Tigers (25-24, 11-11 MSC) tried answering with a one-out single in the top of the second inning, but the Lion defense showed out by turning a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Kent Rooklin gave himself a pseudo three-base walk. After drawing a leadoff walk Rooklin swiped both second and third, easily scoring on Hunter Beecham's groundout to take a 2-0 lead.

Christian Presley kept the bats rolling with a leadoff double to start the third inning which was followed by a Rooney single to chase the Campbellsville starter after two innings. Zach Sanders shot a pitch back where it came from to drive in two more Lion runs. Rooklin continued to hit everything in sight, pounding a double into left-center field to score Sanders to push the Lion lead to 5-0.

Three more runs would cross the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning when Will McCall (13) tagged a three-run blast over the wall in left field to continue the offensive onslaught, now up to an 8-0 lead.

For the third consecutive inning, the bottom of the fifth had three Lions scoring. Mason Libla drew a two-out walk to watch his courtesy runner, Adam Smithson, score in the next at-bat that saw the Tiger centerfielder drop a catch to extend the inning. Rooney made the Tigers pay for the error by hitting his ninth home run to push the Lions ahead 11-0.

Freed-Hardeman would drive in two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to wrap up the scoring. Kimmey Johnson had a leadoff walk, scoring two batters later thanks to Caleb Molo's pinch-hit RBI single. Rooklin would score the final run as a consolation after a double-play.

On the mound, Tyler Duskin (7-3) was nearly untouchable, giving up just four hits in the complete-game shutout. Earning his ice wrap with a 130-pitch outing, the junior southpaw struck out six Tigers.

Rooney and Sanders led the Lion offense, each tallying three hits. McCall and Presley closely followed, garnering two hits each.

Up Next

Freed-Hardeman will take on the (RV) University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) in a must-win final beginning at 5:00 p.m. Should the Lions claim victory, an if-necessary game will be played tomorrow, May 9, for all of the Mid-South Tournament marbles.