HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lions picked up a big conference win, building an early lead and then fending off a comeback by Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College on their way to a 10-7 win on Friday afternoon to take the series two games to one.
The win helps the Lions (33-19, 9-9) move into third place in the TranSouth Conference with three games to go. FHU holds a half-game lead over three teams - Bethel (Tenn.), Lyon (Ark.) and Martin Methodist - for that third place spot. The top six teams in the conference at the end of the regular season will advance to the conference tournament.
The Lions jumped on MMC pitcher Josh Spicer in the first two innings, scoring four runs in each frame to take an 8-2 lead. Noslen Labrada led the early scoring outburst with three RBI on a pair of singles. He also swiped three bases.
FHU chased Spicer with no one out in the second inning, and had a lot more trouble figuring out his replacement. After giving up a pair of run-scoring singles in the second, Brett Seagroat proceeded to quiet the Freed-Hardeman bats and kept the Lions off the board for the next five innings, allowing only two hits in that stretch.
Meanwhile, the RedHawks began to slowly chip away at Freed-Hardeman's lead. They picked up two runs in the fifth inning off of FHU starter Charlie Overturf, and later chased him in the seventh in the midst of another two-run inning to make the score 8-6.
Martin Methodist threatened again in the eighth inning, getting back-to-back one out singles to put runners on the corners against Amos Bingham. FHU head coach Jonathan Estes brought in Trae Luttrell to get out of the inning, and the senior did his job by retiring the next two batters. However, the first of those two batters scored pinch runner Rob Laxson from third on a sacrifice fly to cut the Lions' lead down to one run.
But the Lions finally figured out the submarine-throwing Seagroat in the home half of the eighth, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a hit batsman. Jerry McMurtry relieved Seagroat and got Labrada to strike out before hitting Brian Bullard with a pitch to score Joe Mike from third. Evan Mansell followed with his second RBI single of the game to give Luttrell a 10-7 cushion heading into the final inning.
Luttrell then closed the door, allowing only a one-out single, to pick up his second save of the season.
Overturf (6-1) got the win on the mound after giving up six runs - four earned - in 6-1/3 innings. Mansell, Labrada, Leamond Arthur and Josh Reynolds each had a pair of hits for the Lions, who had 11 total on the day.
