HENDERSON — A pair of home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning propelled the No. 25 Freed-Hardeman University Lions to a 4-3 victory over the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints in the first game of a four-game series.
Freed-Hardeman (11-1) fell behind in the bottom of the first inning. After a pair of strikeouts, the Saints drew three walks while a pair of singles managed to drive in three runs. The Lions battled back in the bottom of the second when
Trace Anderson led off the frame with a double, later scoring after
Brady Spring placed a two-bagger down the right-field line to cut into USF's now 3-1 lead.
With St. Francis (1-1) sending a reliever to the bump in the bottom of the sixth inning, the heart of the FHU order dealt the damage when Anderson led things off with a single to set up
Jordan Carter, whose towering home run to left-center field plated the tying run.
Cade Fuller followed with a one-out homer to right gave the Lions a lead they would not relinquish.Â
In the top of the eighth inning, USF put the tying run on third base, but the Lions were able to escape the danger and keep the lead intact until the 4-3 final.
Colton Huntt (4-0) earned the victory by striking out eight Saints in six innings of work.
Hunter Bennett tossed 1 2/3 innings to set up
Evan Koob, who tallied his fourth save of the year after striking out the side in a roundabout way in the bottom of the ninth. With the leadoff batter striking out, but reaching due to a passed ball, Koob retired the batter with a pickoff at first before conventionally striking out the final two batters of the game.
Trace Anderson and
Christian Presley both went 2-4, while
Jordan Carter,
Cade Fuller, and
Brady Spring's hits driving in the FHU runs.
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Up Next
The Lions and Saints will line up on Saturday, February 24 for a doubleheader with a seven-inning game at 12:00 p.m. being followed by a nine-inning affair at 3:00 p.m. The series will wrap up with a single game on Sunday, February 25 with a first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
