PINE BLUFF, Ark. – The Lindenwood baseball team (1-1, 0-0 OVC) split their Opening Day doubleheader at Arkansas Pine Bluff (1-0, 0-0 OVC) on Friday, taking game one by a score of 6-1 before falling 8-6 in game two.

Game 1 – Lindenwood 6, UPAB 1
Opportunistic offense and lights out pitching led Lindenwood to a 6-1 win in the season opener. Half of LU's six runs went in as unearned as the Lions were able to take advantage of six UAPB errors.

The Lindenwood order combined for 10 hits in the game. Jake Radosevich led the way, going 3-5 with a double and one RBI. Kam Edwards and Will Geary also posted multi-hit outings, with Edward recording a pair of doubles while Geary went 2-5 with an RBI in his collegiate debut. Charlie Isom-McCall led Lindenwood in runs batted in with two.

Aaron Jungers got the save after entering the game in the seventh and allowing zero hits with five strikeouts through three scoreless innings. Josh Newell picked up his first win of the season, allowing zero earned runs on just four hits through the game's first six frames.

How it Happened
After Lindenwood's first three batters of the game reached base with a Will Geary single sandwiched between walks from Kam Edwards and Charlie Isom-McCall, Jake Radosevich drove in the Lions' first run of the year with an RBI base hit to left field that scored Edwards. William Zareh followed that up with a sacrifice fly to plate another before back-to-back strikeouts left Lindenwood with two stranded and a 2-0 lead.

The game settled into a pitcher's duel for the next four innings, with neither team pushing another run across until Pine Bluff scored on a two-out error in the bottom of the fifth to cut their deficit in half. Lindenwood immediately responded in the top of the sixth, as a Will Geary single to right field plated Sam Discoll, who had reached base on an error before moving into scoring position on a well-place sacrifice bunt by Mathew Graf.

Following a scoreless seventh, LU extended their lead in the eighth with a Charlie Isom-McCall double down the left field line that scored Kam Edwards and Spencer Pederson to push the lead out to four runs. Isom-McCall would come around to score on an error the following at-bat to add another insurance run, making the score 6-1.

Pine Bluff threatened with the bases loaded and one away in the bottom of the eighth, but Lindenwood was able to escape the jam with a strikeout followed by a diving play by Charlie Isom-McCall on a shallow pop up for the third out. LU failed to generate any more runs in the top of the ninth, but the five-run cushion was more than enough as Aaron Jungers retired the UAPB side in order in the bottom of the ninth, including back-to-back strikeouts to finish the game.

Game 2 – Lindenwood 6, UAPB 8
Lindenwood came up short in game two, falling 8-6 in a contest that featured four lead changes and over 20 combined hits. After a four-run fifth inning gave LU a two-run advantage, they were unable to manufacture any more runs as UAPB scored four unanswered through the final four frames.

Will Geary led the Lindenwood offense with three hits in four at-bats, adding a run scored and two stolen bases to his outing. Filip Sarota and Charlie Isom-McCall also recorded multi-hit performances with two knocks apiece, with Sarota also driving in a run. Tyler Ellis led the Lions in runs batted in with a 1-3, two RBI performance.

Four Lindenwood arms saw action in the contest, with Luke Walsh being handed the loss after allowing the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. Ethan Smith got the start, giving up four runs on six hits with three strikeouts through 4.2 innings of work.

How it Happened
Following a scoreless opening frame, Lindenwood left runners stranded on the corners in the top of the second before UAPB took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom half with some nifty base running that allowed Joe Adams to steal home.  

After neither team scored in the third, LU would find their first run in the top of the fourth with William Zareh doubling to lead off the inning before coming around to score on a Filip Sarota RBI single to right field. Sarota would advance to second on the play, and after moving up to third on Spencer Pederson groundout, scored on a wild pitch to give LU a 2-1 lead.

Their advantage was short lived, however, as UAPB would put up a three spot with a three-hit bottom of the fourth that included an Joe Adams RBI triple and Blake Coleman two-run homer.

With runners on second and third and no outs in the top of the fifth, Lindenwood got one back with a Jake Radosevich sacrifice fly that scored Will Geary before Charlie Isom-McCall stole home on a wild pitch to tie the game. After a William Zareh walk, Filip Sarota reached on a fielder's choice that resulted in an error, allowing both runners to move up an extra 90 feet before Spencer Pederson brought both home with a clutch two-out base hit to left field that gave Lindenwood a 6-4 lead.

Pine Bluff loaded the bases with two away in the bottom of the fifth but were unable to push any runs across as Michael Walsh got Adams to swing into an infield pop up for the third out.

Lindenwood was unable to extend the lead in the top of the sixth, and in the bottom half of the inning Pine Bluff tied the game with a bases loaded hit by pitch followed by a Zach Wieder sacrifice fly. UAPB would regain the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a Zyon Hamilton RBI single with runners on the corners and nobody out, but a fly out followed by a 6-4-3 double play allowed LU to escape the inning without any additional damage.

Back-to-back singles with two outs put a runner in scoring position for Lindenwood in the top of the eighth, but LU was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. After Pine Bluff added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, Lindenwood was unable to generate any base runners in the ninth, resulting in an 8-6 loss.

Next Up
Lindenwood and Arkansas Pine Bluff are scheduled to play game three of this weekend's series at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The series finale will follow on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.