CLEVELAND, Miss. – Paced by one of its best hitting performances of the year and solid mound efforts, No. 7 seed Lee passed its first test in Gulf South Conference pool play with a 10-4 upset victory over No. 2 seed Montevallo University on Sunday afternoon.
The eight-team tournament is being hosted by No. 1 seed Delta State University. The Flames will have to forget about Sunday's convincing win and get ready to face No. 3 seed West Florida in an early Monday start (11 a.m. ET).
"We have a quick turnaround for the start Monday morning against a really good West Florida team. We will need another great performance," remarked Lee skipper Mark Brew.
Lee unloaded for 10 hits against the Falcons but it took until the seventh inning before the Flames could finally breathe a little easier. Montevallo jumped out to a 1-0 lead and Lee starting pitcher Wes Albert was nailed by a solid line drive in the same frame. However, the senior right-hander shook off the stinging blow and continued to hurl 4.2 innings.
"What a great overall performance by the team after a shaky start. I thought a big key was the gutsy performance by Wes Albert after being hit on the hand by a line drive in the first inning," explained a pleased coach Brew. "Who knows how things play out if he couldn't continue?"
The Flames took the lead in the top of the second on back-to-back singles by Peyton Meeker and Spencer Mossburg. Ryan Beamish delivered a booming double off the right-center field wall scoring Meeker and Mossburg.
The Flacons regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning but the resilient Flames tied the game at three in the top of the fifth. The rest of the day belonged to the Flames. Chase Gadau hit the first of his two homers in the top of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, three big runs went up on the board. With two outs, Miguel Pimentel doubled and Meeker singled. Mossburg put down a safety squeeze that scored Pimentel and Gadau followed with a long home run over the left-field wall.
The Flames tacked on three more insurance runs in the eighth. Fernando Ortiz put down a bunt for a single. Jordan Howard banged out a double that scored Ortiz. Pimentel stroked a one-base knock that scored Howard.
"We had some big swings throughout the line-up. (Catcher) Gadau (two homers, three RBI) really had a nice night at the plate and handled our pitchers well. Beamish (double, single, two RBI) and Meeker (4-for-4, RBI, three runs scored) also contributed with big nights," praised Brew.
However, Lee's two pitchers deserve more than their share of the credit, holding one of the GSC top hitting clubs to just seven hits. Albert, almost surely out after being blasted by the line drive, battled until the fifth inning. He gave up four hits, two earned runs, struck out three and walked four.
Eric Freeman (5-4) entered the contest with two outs but a pair of Falcons on base in the fifth. He immediately ended the Montevallo threat with a strikeout. Over the next three innings, he allowed two singles and a double. His stat line shows no earned runs, no walks, and three strikeouts. He was awarded the pitching win.
"Freeman was excellent out of the bullpen and I thought we found our stride offensively as the game progressed," said Brew, singling out the pitching performances.
Cas Sidler was the starting and losing Montevallo pitcher. He gave up 10 hits over 6.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs while fanning eight and walking three. Justin Whitley (1.1) and Colton Nussel (1.0) finished the mound duties for the Falcons.
