HENDERSON, Tenn. - Wet weather over the weekend cut three games down to two and delayed the series by a couple of days, but the wait was worth it for the Freed-Hardeman Lions.
FHU got a pair of complete game gems from Carlos Pertuz and Jorge Lorie as the Lions swept Union (Tenn.) in a TranSouth Conference double-header, taking 5-2 and 1-0 wins. Those wins improved the Lions to 13-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Pertuz (3-1) went the distance in game one, pitched out of a few jams along the way. In the third inning, he coaxed a pair of groundouts after Union's Kyle Kirksey doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Then, after putting the first two runners on base in the top of the seventh, Pertuz got a strikeout and a game-ended double play.
The Lions gave him a bit of an early cushion after Greg Allen drew a bases-loaded walk in the second to bring in the first run followed two innings later by a Garrett Ammons RBI single.
Union tied the game in the top of the fifth on the strength of back-to-back solo homeruns, but FHU responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning with RBI hits from Leo Alvarez, Michael Clayton, and Derek Bush. Pertuz then retired the side in the sixth and got out of the seventh-inning jam to secure the win. Bush, Ammons, and Angel Nicolas each had two hits in the game.
In game two, Brian Bullard's RBI double in the first inning proved to be all that Lorie (4-0) needed as he allowed only five Bulldogs to reach base over seven innings dropping his ERA down to 1.00 in five appearances. It was his third complete game of the season and second shutout.
The Lions return to the diamond on Friday when they travel to Martin Methodist (Tenn.) for a three-game series beginning on Friday.
