The Lee men's baseball team improved to 5-0 on the year by sweeping a doubleheader from 19th-ranked Valdosta State on a cold, damp Friday afternoon on Olympic Field inside Larry Carpenter Stadium. The Flames won the opener 6-4 and came back in the nightcap by outscoring the Blazers 10-7. The two teams will return to action to complete the three-game series, weather permitting, on Saturday at 12 noon.
"This was two really good wins against a good team. Our defense was good for most of the day and we were able to get some big outs via some incredible defensive plays," commented Coach Mark Brew after the sweep. "Our starting pitching was good in both games and we got some big outs late as we knew Valdosta State wouldn't go away quietly.
"Our offense showed up in a big way in both games. Valdosta has a really good pitching staff and our guys found ways to make adjustments and get big hits and the big innings today. We had some big two-out RBI and that's key in a series like this."
Game 1
The Flames sent nine batters to the plate in the seventh inning and jumped out to a 6-1 lead over the visitors. However, the Blazers would not go away without a fight in posting three runs in the top of the eighth before Lee sealed the deal in the ninth.
Landon Silver ripped a three-run homer in the seventh. Colton Yeager also had two hits and Thomas Zazzaro got things going in the seventh and finished the day with a pair of hits and a RBI. Dylan Standifer doubled and scored and Nate Bynum also had a two-base hit in the victory. The Flames out-hit the Blazers 11-6. Valdosta got a three-run homer from David Maberry in the eighth inning to push Lee to the limit.
Logan Workman pitched six innings and allowed just three hits and one earned run. He struck out 11 and walked three. Michael Hendricks came on for 1.1 innings and allowed two earned runs. He was credited with the pitching win. Andy Rivera finished the afternoon in the final 1.2 innings. He gave up three hits and an earned run.
Tristan Cone started and pitched 4.1 innings. He surrendered just two hits, fanned six and walked two. Three other hurlers followed Cone to the mound and Zach Blankenship came on for 0.2 innings and was charged with the loss.
Game 2
The middle of the Lee lineup did the job in the 10-7 victory. Alan Smith hit a double, a home run, scored three runs and drove in two. Ryan Beamish had a pair of hits and two RBI plus scoring a run. Standifer doubled, collected a RBI and scored while Yeager continued his good work at the plate with a two-base knock. He drove in three runs and tallied two. Luke Hughes also doubled and knocked in a run while Bynum had a hit and scored as did Zazzaro.
The Blazers out-hit the Flames 12-11 in the loss but Lee put three runs on the board in the third, four more in the sixth and three in the seventh to outlast the determined Valdosta squad. Ben Rowdon stroked a double and collected a RBI. DJ Boskow doubled and singled while scoring a run. Jowenrick Daantji collected a two-base hit and finished the day with two more singles. Maberry had two hits and scored twice while Ralph Moria posted a double and drove in two runs.
Seth Konkel gave the Flames another good start. In six innings, he allowed five hits, two earned runs, struck out six and walked two in picking up the victory. Tyler Fairchild and Alex Butler followed Konkel to the mound.
Valdosta State used four pitchers. Elijah Gill started and was charged with the loss. He allowed eight hits, seven earned runs but struck out eight.
