VALDOSTA, Ga. - With Jordan Howard, Miguel Pimentel and Spencer Mossburg swinging the big sticks, the Lee baseball club swept an important three-game series over host Valdosta State University.
 
In convincing style, the Flames won the series opener on Friday 10-0 and bounced right back on Saturday to claim both ends of the twinbill, 6-1 and 10-5. Lee improved to 19-15 overall and continued to climb the ladder in the Gulf South Conference standing with a 12-6 mark. After all of  GSC play was completed on Saturday, the Flames are tied for third in the standings with Montavallo and North Alabama. With their sixth straight conference victories, Lee will travel to Belmont Abby on Wednesday for a non-conference game before returning to Olympic Field on Friday and Saturday for a key GSC series with West Florida.


"It's really difficult to sweep in this league, and especially on the road," explained Lee's head coach Mark Brew. "My hat's off to this team. They are playing with lots of confidence and we have lots of people contributing throughout the lineup and on the mound. We have had a great three-week stretch, going 8-1 in conference games. It's a big momentum swing for us and it's exciting to watch."
 
SATURDAY-GAME 2
Howard continued to flex his muscles at the dish, knocking in three runs with a two-hit and single. He also tallied a run. Pimentel was solid again with two hits that plated a pair of runs. He also scored twice.
 
Mossburg ripped a three-run homer over the centerfield wall. Justen Freeman followed with two knocks and Chase Andrews collected a RBI with a single.
 
Pat Morrow hurled the first two innings before running into trouble. He allowed five hits and an earned run. Freshman Thomas Zazzaro gave the Flames four badly needed innings. The right-hander gave up one earned run and three hits while striking out three. Another freshman, Logan Workman, came on to seal the deal with two strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth.
 
"Zazzaro really picked us up after they got to Morrow in the third," Brew commented. "He has thrown really well this year and is a huge lift in the middle innings. Mossburg had a huge swing in the first (three-run homer) to get us going"

SATURDAY-GAME 1
The Flames followed up on their impressive Friday night performance with a 6-1 win over the Blazers.
 
Jordan Howard and Miguel Pimentel continued to swing the hot bats for coach Mark Brew's club. Howard went 3-for-5 with a RBI and two runs scored. He had a pair of doubles while Pimentel was 2-for-4 including a pair of runs scored and two RBI. He doubled in the victory.
 
Lee jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Pimentel doubled home Tyler Payne. Spencer Mossburg singled and picked up two RBI when Pimentel and Howard scored.
 
Lee was silent until the top of the fifth inning when the club tallied a solo run. Pimentel's fly to right scored Howard. Insurance runs followed in the eighth and ninth innings. Pimentel scored on an unearned run in the eighth and Howard doubled home Fernando Ortiz in the ninth.
 
Jumpei Akanuma (4-1) toed the rubber for eight innings of excellent baseball. He allowed six hits and one earned run while striking out eight and not allowing Valdosta a free pass. Eric Freeman came on to work the ninth and was perfect. The right-hander fanned two.
 
"Jumpei really did a nice job again keeping Valdosta off balance. He had command of all pitches and did a great job executing. Howard really had a nice game at the plate and once again we got production in lots of places in the lineup," noted Brew.

FRIDAY - GAME 1
Lee batters pounded out 11 hits, including six that went for extra bases, and Wes Albert gave the Flames a second straight weekend start in a convincing 10-0 (run-rule) victory over Valdosta State University on Friday afternoon.
 
The Flames erupted for four runs in the first inning and stretched the margin to 6-0 after the second frame. They tacked on three more insurance runs in the fourth inning and then added a solo score in the fifth.
 
In the meantime, Albert (3-2) was hurling 6.1 innings of outstanding baseball. The senior right-hander gave up only three hits while striking out five. He did issue five walks, including a pair in the seventh inning before Jay Pryor came on to retire the final two Blazer hitters.
 
In the first inning Peyton Meeker picked up the first of his three RBI on the day with a sacrifice fly that scored Tyler Payne. Ryan Bemish singled to drive home Miguel Pimentel and Jordan Howard. Dalton Ney's one-base hit plated Chase Gadau.
 
Lee countered with two more runs in the second. Pimentel doubled to drive home Howard and Payne. In the fourth, Meeker got into the act again with a one-base knock that again scored Howard and Payne. The final run in the fourth came when Gadau's sac fly pushed Pimentel across the dish. The Flames capped off the big afternoon in the fifth when Howard picked up a single that scored Ney.
 
Howard was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and triple. He tallied three runs and picked up a RBI. Pimentel added two hits, including a double. He scored twice and knocked in a pair of runs. Meeker finished with a triple and three RBI. Payne picked up a double and a single and tallied three runs.