LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Traveling to avoid the heavy rains in Tennessee, Lee baseball tested Bellarmine University in a pair of games that were originally scheduled at the "Carp" before the two coached agreed to play an early morning and afternoon doubleheader on the artificial turf at Trinity Stadium. The Knights swept the twinbill, winning 7-2 and 9-6. The losses drop the Flames to 10-9 overall. They will be back on the road Saturday and Sunday facing Valdosta State in a GSC three-game series.
Game 2 – Bellarmine 9, Lee 6
The Lee bats came live in the second game. After managing only four hits in the opener, the Flames pounded out 14 hits, but left 13 runners on the bases, including a bases-loaded situation in the final inning. The heart of the batting order produced as Alan Smith, Ryan Beamish and Landon Silver combined for eight of Lee's 14 hits. Dylan Standifer, Smith, Beamish, Silver and Josh Perez had two-base hits, while Smith and Silver had three hits each and Silver drove in three runs.
The Flames were up 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth. The Knights plated two runs and then came back with four big tallies in the bottom of the fifth, claiming the lead and turning away Lee rallies over the last two innings.
Bellarmine had four hitters with two hits apiece. Josh Finerty and Gabe Bratetic doubled and homered. Noah Nelson and Justin Rouse tripled while Miley Deylen also homered. Devin Ecklar was the winning pitcher and Ryan Johnson came on to get the save.
Lee used four hurlers. Alan Rickman started and Andrew Franklin, Michael Hendricks, Brandon Bolt and Randall Coxwell followed. Hendricks took the defeat, giving up four runs and four hits in 0.2 innings. Coxwell was the only pitcher to hold the Knights scoreless in his inning of work.
Game 1 - Bellarmine 7, Lee 2
The Lee baseball team dodged the rain by moving its games scheduled for the "Carp" to Bellarmine University and Trinity Stadium on Tuesday morning, but the 10 a.m. start to the first game of the scheduled doubleheader resulted in a 7-2 loss to the Knights.
Tyler Fairchild (0-1) was the Lee starting pitcher and was charged with the loss. The lefty worked 2.2 innings. He allowed four hits, five earned runs, walked two and got one strikeout. Lance Hamilton followed for 1.1 inning and gave up one hit, a free pass and one run. Alex Butler came on for an inning and he also gave up a run on two hits. Butler allowed a walk and fanned two. Davis Gurosky pitched the final inning. He walked two but did not give up a run.
The Flames had only four hits in the loss. In the top of the seventh Alan Smith doubled and scored on Ryan Beamish's third homer of the season. Josh Perez and Brandon Daniels had Lee's other hits.
The Knights were paced by a double and two-run home run from Chris Gambert. Jacob Mulcahy and Josh Finerty also banged out two-base hits. Brandon Pfaadt was the starting and winning pitcher. He recorded two innings of hitless ball and sent three Flames down on strikes. Shane Barringer also pitched two frames and gave up a hit. Anthony Ethington got the save, hurling the final three innings of the seven-inning contest. He gave up the two-base hit by Smith and the four-bagger to Beamish.
