Cougars Drop Opening Day Doubleheader Against Pikeville Bears

(Pippa Passes, KY) -- The Cleary Cougars Baseball team kicked off their 2025 season today against the University of Pikeville Bears. The Cougars would drop both games with final scores of 5-4 and 15-5. 

In Game 1: The Cougars would come out excited as the new season started. Conner Boone would pick up the Cougars' first hit of the season in the 1st inning, however, that was all they could pick up. Senior Haden Fisk would get the ball on opening day for the Cougars and pick up two strikeouts in the first inning. As the game moved along, the Cougars looked to open up the scoring in the 3rd inning. Brady Alverson would walk, followed by a single from Austin Vincent and a wild pitch to put the runners in scoring position. Gavin Kemapainen would single into left field scoring both runners and giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead. Pikeville wouldn't back away as they would reclaim the lead in the bottom half of the inning scoring 4 runs on 2 hits, all with 2 outs in the inning. In the top of the 5th inning, the Cougars would apply pressure. Brady Alverson who was already on base earlier in the inning would try to score on a 2-out single by Brendan Seman but would be thrown out at home plate to stop the pressure. Pikeville would go on to score one more run in the bottom half of the inning increasing their lead to 5-2. In the top half of the 6th inning, Joey Parinello walked, followed by the first Cougar home run of the year hit by Brodie Mackay bringing it to a 5-4 game. The Cougars would get shut down in the 7th inning leaving Pikeville with the win and handing the Cougars their first loss of the season. 

Haden Fisk (0-1) got the opening day start for the Cougars and would ultimately suffer the loss. His final stat line was 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO. Marty McDonald and Ryan Lieng would also make their season debuts on the mound in this game. 

In Game 2: Pikeville would prove to be too much for the Cougars in Game 2. Pikeville would get off to an early 4-0 lead after 3 innings of play. In the 4th inning, Ryan Rose got the Cougars on the board with a sacrifice fly scoring Joey Parinello. Joey Parinello would later double in the 5th inning scoring Brendan Seman to add to the Cougar scoring, however, Pikeville would match each Cougar run in the bottom half of their innings. The Cougars were able to score two more runs in the 6th inning. Joseph Miller would collect his first career hit with a triple to score Braylon Hughes. Miller would score on the next play. Pikeville remained resilient scoring 4 more runs in the 6th inning. In the 7th inning, the Cougars were able to score their last run on an error. Pikeville's offense would ultimately keep the pressure on the Cougars and reach the 10-run mercy rule in the 8th inning ending the game at 15-5. 

Will Roberts (0-1) would get the start of the Cougars with a final stat line of 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO. Brett Paris, Brody Fay, and Joey Underwood would all make their season debuts on the mound as well. 

The Cougars start the year 0-2 but will jump back into action tomorrow with another doubleheader against the University of Pikeville Bears. First pitch is set for 12:00 PM at Fred Mullinax Athletic Complex in Pippa Passes, Kentucky.