BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. — In a midweek doubleheader, the (RV) Freed-Hardeman University Lions plated 31 runs in 14 innings in a doubleheader against the Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) University Toppers. After a 13-2 victory in game one, the Lions ran away with an 18-6 win in game two.
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Game 1
(RV) Freed-Hardeman - 13
Blue Mountain Christian - 2
Freed-Hardeman (21-10) was locked in from the first pitch, scoring nine runs in the top of the first inning.
Drake Blackwood's two-run double got the scoring started before
Hunter McLemore blasted a solo shot in the top of the third.
The Toppers (16-17) were able to plate two runs with an RBI double, but the early FHU lead proved insurmountable.
FHU connected for 12 hits in the victory, led by
Brennen Gibson's three hits.
Trace Anderson,
Drake Blackwood, and
Hunter McLemore followed with two hits each with Blackwood's three RBI leading the Lions.
Colton Bryant (5-1) had the start and the victory, but it was
Ryan Sanchez (1) that earned a save after hurling three hitless innings where he struck out four Toppers.
Scoring Summary
Top 1
The Lions would plate nine runs in the top half of the first inning with
Trace Anderson and
Brennen Gibson leading off with hits.
Drake Blackwood would later drive them both home with a two-run double.
JJ Pruneau would follow with a two-run single before
Alejandro Diaz drew a bases-loaded walk to chase the BMCU starter before recording an out.
Hunter McLemore's bases-loaded walk was followed by a sacrifice fly from Anderson.
Brooks Jones added an RBI single before a wild pitch helped the last run of the frame to cross.
FHU 9, BMCU 0
Top 3
McLemore smashed a leadoff homer over the centerfield wall. With back-to-back hits from Anderson and Gibson, Blackwood's RBI single made it an 11-run lead.
FHU 11, BMCU 0
Bottom 3
The Toppers would get on the board with a two-run double.
FHU 11, BMCU 2
Top 7
After three scoreless frames, Diaz would lead off the seven with a solo homer before Gibson would double home the final run of the game.
FHU 13, BMCU 2
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Game 2
(RV) Freed-Hardeman - 18
Blue Mountain Christian - 6
The offense stayed hot for Freed-Hardeman (22-10) in the second game with the Lions jumping out to a two-run lead thanks to
JJ Pruneau's two-run single.Â
BMCU (16-18) took the lead in the home half of the second inning with three runs on four hits, but the Lions would put up another nine-run inning to retake the lead. In that inning,
Brennen Gibson would smash a three-run homer with
Drake Blackwood connecting for a two-run shot. Putting away any chance for a comeback, the Lions added six runs in the top of the seventh to keep the game out of reach.
The Lions had three base hits from
Drake Blackwood and
Brennen Gibson with each drivin in three runs.
JJ Pruneau and
Hunter Ryan also had multi-hit games with two hits each.
A prearranged bullpen day,
Hunter Gressel (1-0) was the first of three pitchers and tossed three innings to get the win.
Scoring Summary
Top 1
Freed-Hardeman remained strong offensively, with
JJ Pruneau's two-run single putting FHU on the board to start game two.
FHU 2, BMCU 0
Bottom 2
The Toppers would claim a lead after scoring three runs on four hits.
FHU 2, BMCU 3
Top 4
For the second time in the doubleheader, the Lions would score nine runs in an inning.
Colin Milligan's RBI double opened the scoring, with
Trace Anderson's RBI single following. The big hits came off of the bats of
Brennen Gibson and
Drake Blackwood. Gibson launched a three-run homer before Blackwood followed two batters later with a two-run blast. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from
Ben Turner pushed FHU to the big lead.
FHU 11, BMCU 3
Bottom 5
Blue Mountain Christian added another trio of runs with three straight base hits and an RBI double.
FHU 11, BMCU 6
Top 6
Alejandro Diaz lifted a sacrifice fly to plate
Chase Eakes.
FHU 12, BMCU 6
Top 7
The Lions would put up another big inning with a six-run frame. Blackwood had an RBI single before
Tyler Cross would follow with a two-run double.
Brennan Petersen, Diaz, and
Michael Glick each tallied RBI base hits to cap the six-run five-hit frame.
FHU 18, BMCU 8
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Up Next
The Lions return to Mid-South Conference action with a trip to Lindsey Wilson where they will face the Blue Raiders for a three-game series on April 3-4.
