HENDERSON — Opening the 2026 season, the Freed-Hardeman University Lions picked up wins in both games on Saturday. First, they defeated the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) Cougars, 3-1, before beating the Midway (Ky.) University Eagles 4-2.
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Game 1
Saint Francis - 1
Freed-Hardeman - 3
The Lions (1-0) started the year with a narrow victory. FHU took advantage of a wild pitch in the bottom of the first inning before
Chase Eakes smacked a homer to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Saint Francis (1-1) tallied a run in the top half of the fourth inning with a solo shot of their own. Old-school small ball helped the Lions add insurance in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sacrifice bunt plating the final run of the contest.
JJ Pruneau led the FHU offense with two base hits while
Trace Anderson,
Chase Eakes, and
Hunter Ryan each tallied one.
Jackson Fitzwilson (1-0) got the opening day start and tossed seven innings where he struck out five batters.
Colton Bryant (1) came on to earn the save by striking out three batters in two innings of hitless work.
Scoring Summary
Bottom 1
A bases-loaded wild pitch allowed
Trace Anderson to score the first run of the 2026 season
FHU 1, USF 0
Bottom 2
Chase Eakes made a splash with his career's first hit - a leadoff home run over the wall in left field.
FHU 2, USF 0
Top 4
The Cougars answered with a leadoff solo shot of their own.
FHU 2, USF 1
Bottom 7
Brennan Peterson added some FHU insurance by knocking a sacrifice bunt to drive in
Michael Glick.
FHU 3, USF 1
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Game 2
Midway - 2
Freed-Hardeman - 4
The Lion (2-0) bats were off and running in the second game of the night with
Brooks Jones driving in a pair of runs with a single. A third run crossed when
Brennen Gibson aired a sacrifice fly.
Midway (0-2) narrowed the FHU lead to a single run with two runs.
Trace Anderson added some breathing room in the bottom of the fifth with a home run. The Eagles narrowly missed out on tying the game in the seventh inning when what could have been a game-tying homer fell just in front of the wall to hold the batter to a double and keep a runner on third.Â
Trace Anderson and
Brooks Jones both went 2-for-3 in the night game with Jones driving in a team-high two runs.
Jackson Hines (1-0) got the victory in 4 1/3 innings of work in his first collegiate appearance where he fanned seven Eagles.
Joe Romines (1) cleaned up the final 2 2/3 innings by striking out six.
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Scoring Summary
Bottom 1
After
Tyree Claxton was hit by a pitch and
Trace Anderson smacked a single,
Brooks Jones' single through the left side allowed both runners to score. Later in the inning,
Brennen Gibson lifted a sacrifice fly to drive in the third run of the half inning.
FHU 3, Midway 0
Top 5
A leadoff single helped the Eagles get a runner on base before a hit and a throwing error allowed a run to score. A wild pitch with a runner on third allowed a second to cross.
FHU 3, Midway 2
Bottom 5
Trace Anderson added to the Lion total with a opposite-field home run to right-center.
FHU 4, Midway 2
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Up Next
FHU will run it back to host Saint Francis and Midway on February 8 at and estimated 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
