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The defending NCCAA Mideast Regional Champion Alice Lloyd College Eagles opened up play on Sunday when they traveled to Pikeville to face the NAIA’s University of Pikeville Bears. Due to the horrendous weather we have had so far, the Eagles have not been able to practice even once on their field. Despite that setback, long time mentor Scott Cornett, picked up a last second contest with a strong Pikeville squad, to give his men an opportunity to, at last, take the field, as he knows the challenge should benefit him down the road. Following are recaps of each contest.

GAME 1
UPIKE – 6 | Alice Lloyd – 2

The two squads played scoreless ball until the fourth inning when Eagle freshman catcher Dalton Cornett smashed a towering homer to give his club a 1-0 lead. ALC pitcher Will Hubbard had contained the Bears with a solid display during the four innings he pitched as he allowed only 2 hits and struck out 3.

 UPIKE got on track in the bottom of the fifth.Alice Lloyd reliever Alec Carter loaded the bases and with two outs and a 0-2 count. At that critical juncture, Nelson Muniz delivered a double to put the hosts up 2-1. Pikeville went on to score four more runs on the two outs, including a 3-run homer by Matt Peterson. Suddenly, the score stood 6-1.

The guests scored again in the sixth on a walk and looked to gain momentum. Unfortunately, the Eagles were unable to add any additional scores as the rally died.

The Bears outhit Alice Lloyd 9-4 in the win as Austyn Turner, Kaden Rose, and Ethan Osborne each added singles for the guests. Pitcher Bruce Bell earned the win while Carter suffered the loss, allowing 7 hits and 6 runs.

GAME 2
UPIKE – 10 | Alice Lloyd – 1

The hosts jumped ahead with 3 quick runs and pulled away for the victory.

Alice Lloyd scored its only run of the game on a sacrifice fly to centerfield in the second, but the visitors were never able to string a few critical hits together when they most needed them.

UPIKE added on to its lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings and iced the game with five runs in the sixth. The Eagles used three pitchers in the sixth inning as they attempted to get rid of some of the rust.

At the plate, the Bears outhit the Eagles 9-4. Cornett, Turner, Will Hubbard, and Isaac Stephens all had singles for ALC. On the mound, Jake Hamilton earned the win with nine strikeouts while Levi Martin suffered the loss allowing 5 hits and 4 runs.