JACKSON, Tenn. - The regular season finale didn't end on a high note for the Freed-Hardeman Lions, as they were beaten in the final game of a three-game series with No. 21 Union (Tenn.) University, 20-10, on Friday afternoon.
The loss drops the Lions (33-22, 9-12) into the six-seed for the upcoming conference tournament, which begins Monday at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky.
FHU got off to a good start, taking a 5-2 lead after two innings with Brian Bullard accounting for three of those runs with an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the second. But the Bulldogs took control in the home half of the third with seven runs coming on four hits and a pair of FHU errors.
The Lions would not regain the lead for the remainder of the game, though they pulled within one run in the top of the fifth after a Robert Prieto grounder made the score 10-9. Union, however, scored once in the bottom of the inning and twice in the sixth to build a cushion before exploding for seven more runs in the seventh to end the game via the run rule.
Bullard had a big day at the plate, getting three hits and five RBI and finishing a triple shy of the cycle. He hit a two-run home run, his ninth of the year, in the fourth inning to put him two away from tying the school's career record. Prieto and Derek Bush also had three hits on the day for FHU.
Hunter Newby (6-4) took the loss as the Lions used four pitchers in the game. Newby, who started the game, allowed eight runs in 2-2/3 innings.
Freed-Hardeman takes on top-seeded Cumberland (Tenn.) University at noon on Monday in the conference tournament.
