The Lee University baseball team's postseason hopes took a major hit Friday evening with a pair of losses in a Gulf South Conference doubleheader against the University of Montevallo. The Flames fell 6-2 in the opener and were beaten 11-2 in the nightcap.
Lee (21-24, 10-14 GSC) began the day holding the eighth and final spot in the GSC Championship, but slipped to ninth place behind Shorter University. Shorter is 11-4 in conference play and are scheduled to play their final two GSC contests Saturday afternoon against Valdosta State University.
Montevallo (19-24, 15-11 GSC) used a big inning in each game to separate them from the home team. The Falcons scored four runs in the fourth inning of game one and tallied eight runs in the fifth inning of game two.
The Flames will look to salvage game three of the series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., weather permitting.
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GAME 2 – MONTEVALLO 11, LEE 2
Montevallo used six hits and two Lee errors to push across 11 runs, while the Flames tallied two runs off five hits and one Montevallo error.
The Falcons grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning with a bases-loaded walk by Jason Cryar. Lee pulled even in the fourth with Miguel Pimentel's 11
th home run of the season.
Montevallo regained the lead in the fifth inning when Khari Anderson singled in John Benevolent. Two batters later, Tyler Krabbe's tailor-made double play ground ball was misplayed to allow another run to score. Sebastian Samuels followed with a grand slam to left field. Davis Lott and Ben Teel followed with solo home runs of their own to push the Montevallo advantage to 9-1.
Parker Stahlman singled up the middle to score Landon Silver in the bottom of the fifth, but the Falcons tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to supply the final score.
Chandler Ingram (4-2) was credited with the win after allowing just two hits over the final 2 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Justin Whitley started and went 3 1/3 innings before being lifted for Kuster Kinlecheenie. Whitley gave up one run, two hits and struck out four. Kinlecheenie was tabbed for one run and one hit, while walking two and fanning two batters in one inning of work.
Alex Butler gave up three runs on two hits in 4 1/3 innings and was charged with the loss. Butler (3-4) walked three and struck out five.
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GAME 1 – MONTEVALLO 6, LEE 2
Three Flames hitters recorded two hits each as Lee finished with nine hits. Montevallo tallied 10 hits with four batters claiming two each.
Thomas Zazzaro was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI single. Pimentel was 2-for-4 with a triple and Justen Freeman stroked two singles.
UM was led by Teel's 2-for-4 performance. Teel delivered an RBI double in the fourth and homered to left field in the sixth. Samuels and Ryan Brooks were both 2-for-4 with a double. Davis Lott singled twice and drove in one run.
Lee grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning with a sacrifice fly by Alan Smith. Montevallo posted four runs in the fourth inning. Lott singled in a run followed by Teel's RBI double. Ty Wooten completed the frame with a two-run single up the middle.
Teel pushed the Montevallo lead to 5-1 with Teel's solo home run in the sixth. Zazzaro's run-scoring single cut the deficit to three. The Falcons added an unearned run in the top of the ninth to regain the four-run lead.
Chrit Rudkin scattered eight hits over 7 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Rudkin (4-5) gave up two runs, walked three and fanned four. Ingram allowed one hit and struck out one in the final 1 1/3 innings to record his second save of the season.
Logan Workman was tagged with the loss and dropped to 3-3 on the season. He gave up five runs on nine hits, walked two and struck out five Montevallo batters.
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