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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Freed-Hardeman’s (Tenn.) Matthew Riley’s no-hitter highlighted the second day of the Mid-South Conference Baseball Tournament at Bowling Green Ballpark.
Top-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.) scored 22 runs while second-seeded Cumberland (Tenn.) and third-seeded Freed-Hardeman won pitching duels. A pair of elimination games is on tap for Thursday.
Cumberlands (Ky.) vs. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) - Box Score
Cumberlands (42-8) used a pair of big offensive innings -- scoring 11 times in the first inning and nine times in the sixth -- to cruise to a 22-6 win over seventh-seeded Lindsey Wilson in today’s first game.
Derick Andiarena and Alec Gonzalez led the Cumberlands’ hitting attack, tallying five RBIs apiece. Max Harper and Caden Petrey both contributed a home run and a combined seven RBIs.
Jake Kmiecik garnered the win, hurling 3-1/3 scoreless innings on one hit with three strikeouts to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Cumberlands faces fourth-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) at 1 p.m. CT on Thursday, while Lindsey Wilson (9-38) plays Campbellsville (Ky.) in an elimination game at 9:30 a.m. CT.
Campbellsville (Ky.) vs. Cumberland (Tenn.) - Box Score
Cumberland's Quinlan Wiley limited Campbellsville (30-18) to just one run in the Phoenix's 5-2 win to remain in the winner's bracket.
He scattered six hits over his 6-2/3 innings while striking out four Tigers. Kyle Nyblod earned his fifth save of the season, throwing 2-1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts.
The Cumberland (34-15-1) offense scratched across a pair of runs in the third inning and another in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead entering the game's latter stages. Campbellsville cut the deficit to 3-1 in the seventh inning, only to have the Phoenix push the lead to 5-1 in the eighth en route to the win.
Wilser Then -- who homered in the game -- and Javier Beal paced the Cumberland offense, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate and combining for four RBIs. Zane Skanis had the only RBI on the day for Campbellsville.
Cumberland faces Freed-Hardeman at 4:30 pm CT on Thursday.
Bethel (Tenn.) vs. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) - Box Score
Riley's no-hitter put an exclamation point on the night, but he needed help from Cam Madding to ensure the win. Riley allowed an unearned run while striking out 10.
But the Lions (31-18) trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Bethel's Zach Zimmer blanked Freed-Hardeman for six innings before the Lions finally broke through. Zimmer finished allowing two runs on six hits over his seven-plus innings of work.
Dalton Bonner provided a RBI single that ricocheted off Zimmer in the seventh to tie the game at 1-1. Madding gave the Lions their first lead of the night in the eighth with a three-run home run to right field for the 4-1 lead and eventual win. Madding led Freed-Hardeman at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
Riley retired the Wildcats (22-17) in order in the ninth, snagging a comebacker for the final out of the night.
The third day of the MSC Baseball Tournament is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. CT on Thursday at Bowling Green Ballpark.