HENDERSON, Tenn. --- The University of St. Francis baseball team suffered its first doubleheader sweep of the season on Saturday afternoon, dropping 9-0 and 12-4 decisions to NAIA No.25-ranked Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.) at Five Wells Field.

The Fighting Saints (1-3) managed just one hit in the seven-inning first game.  In the nightcap, USF rallied to get within 3-2 in the seventh inning before the Lions (13-1) scored five times in the bottom half of the inning and four more times in the eighth inning to pull away.

Drew Dant was the lone USF player to record a hit in each end of the doubleheader, going 4-for-5 on the day.

The hosts finished the afternoon with eight home runs with three Lion players hitting two home runs each.

Game 1: Freed-Hardeman 9, USF 0
Freed-Hardeman scored in each of the first five innings to pull away early.  The Lions led off both the first and second innings with home runs and finished with three for the game. 

FHU's William Kelley drove in three runs, including two on a home run in the fourth inning.  Leadoff batter Adam Smithson scored two more with a pair of hits, including the one round-tripper.

Dant was the only Saint to register a hit off Houston High, who went the distance to improve to 4-0.  He struck out six against three walks and one hit batsman.

Dant's hit came with one out in the third inning and was one of only two frames in which the Saints put at least one runner in scoring position.  The other time – the seventh inning – was wiped out by a game-ending double play.  

Game 2: Freed-Hardeman 12, USF 4
After recording the game-winning home run one night earlier, Cade Fuller delivered a pair of round-trippers in Game 2 on Saturday.  His two-run shot in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie and his three-run home run in the seventh inning sparked a five-run frame after the Saints had pulled to within 3-2 in the top half of the inning.

Alex Martinez ended USF's 20-inning scoreless drought in the top of the seventh inning with his leadoff home run.  Nate Maliska made it a 3-2 game with his two-out double scoring Dant (single).

Martinez also had a bases-loaded sacrifice fly with no one out in the eighth inning.  One batter later, Jake Merda delivered a run-scoring single to right field to plate Max Montgomery (double) before the second rally would end.

Dant went 3-for-4 in the contest with a double and one run scored.  Maliska provided two hits.

St. Francis starter Ryan Daly (0-1) faced just one batter over the minimum through the first four innings before yielding the two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth to complete his day.  He struck out five batters.

Notes: Dant has hit safely in each of the first three games of the series … Jacob Blim struck out three batters in 2 2/3 innings in Game 1.  The only run he allowed was unearned … Brant Singler, Malachi Riley, Will Calcaterra and Jack Salzeider all made their St. Francis debuts in Game 1 … The Saints complete the four-game set with Freed-Hardeman on Sunday at 1 pm.

Links to live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on Twitter @USFSaints.