VALDOSTA, Georgia – There was no question who was in command when Lee senior right-hander Logan Workman went to the mound to face host Valdosta State on Friday afternoon at Billy Grant Field. Workman pitched nine innings, fanned 12 and gave up just one hit in leading the Flames to an impressive 8-0 victory over the Blazers. He improved his record to 5-0 and faced a minimum of 27 hitters.
While Workman was retiring Valdosta hitters with a mixture of blazing fast balls, sliders and off-speed pitches, his teammates helped salt the victory away with nine hits and played errorless ball in the field. The win improved Lee's mark to 11-9 overall but even more important 4-3 in Gulf South Conference play. The Blazers fell to 12-4, 4-2. The two clubs will battle again on Saturday in a doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. opening pitch.
"I've seen a lot of all the games in our programs history and the performance Workman turned in has to rank in the top. He was in command all night and had everything working. He traded blows with Blankenship until we were able to scratch single runs and then get the big inning in the 8th. Our defense was once again solid and it was one of most complete team games we have played to date," said Coach Mark Brew who had nothing but praise for his team.
The Flames jumped on top 1-0 in the fourth inning. Thomas Zazzaro doubled to left-centerfield. Alan Smith reached on a fielder's choice that pushed Zazzaro to third. He scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Justin Fragale. Lee added another run in the sixth. Luke Hughes reached on an error and Dylan Standifer's two-base knock scored Hughes.
Lee put the contest completely out of reach in the eighth with six runs. Hughes singled, stole second and went to third on Zazzaro's bunt. After Standifer was hit by a pitch, Smith displayed an excellent piece of hitting when he singled between first and second, plating Zazzaro and Hughes. The inning continued when Fragale stroked a one-base hit that scored Standifer. Ryan Beamish capped off the frame with a three-run homer to right field that scored Smith and Fragale.
Eight of the Flames collected hits. Fragale was the only batter with two hits. He also had a pair of RBI. Zazzaro scored twice. Hughes had a solid afternoon and also scored two runs. "It's great to grab that game one win. We need to come out tomorrow with focus and energy the entire day to be able to get this series from a really good Valdosta State team," pointed out the Lee coach.
Zach Blankenship (2-1) hurled a solid seven innings for the Blazers. He allowed four hits, one earned run and struck out 10. The Flames did the damage against Bryce Van Horn. In the eighth, he allowed five earned runs. Tyler Moore and Anthony Dahl entered the contest and
