The Lee baseball team gained revenge for a Feb. 17
th 12-6 loss at Carson-Newman University by posting a 4-1 victory over the Eagles at Larry Carpenter Stadium on Olympic Field on a damp Tuesday afternoon. The No. 6-ranked Flames improved to 18-2 while the 22
nd-ranked Eagles dropped to 15-5.
The Flames took the lead for good in the third inning when Landon Silver blasted his team-leading eighth homer of the season far over the left-field wall. Riley Black followed with a double. Nate Bynum put down a sacrifice bunt and Black scored on a sac fly by Thomas Zazzaro. The two runs would stand up through several challenges by the Eagles.
Carson-Newman cut the margin to 2-1 in the fourth inning after Zach Boze walked and later scored on an error by the Flames. Lee moved the margin to 4-1 in the bottom of the inning. Alan Smith reached on an error. Ryan Beamish singled. Colton Yeager picked up a RBI on a ground out and Silver picked up his second RBI of the afternoon with a one-base knock. Beamish finished with a pair of singles while Zazzaro and Justen Freeman had Lee's other hits.
"Silver had a great day at the plate and Beamish had some really competitive at bats as well. We hit some balls hard, but offense is a big key to winning on the road and we will need some big performances from our hitters," commented Coach Mark Brew.
The Lee hitters were setting the table for six pitchers. Tyler Fairchild hurled the first three innings and allowed one hit. He struck out two and walked one. Alan Carter followed for a pair of innings and picked up the pitching win. He surrendered two hits, an earned run, fanned four and walked two. Nate Dupree returned from the injured list to pitch a solid inning before Coach Brew went to his regulars from the bullpen. Michael Hendricks responded with 1.1 innings of one-hit ball. Andy Rivera came on in the ninth to pick up his fifth save of the year.
"Our pitchers once again did a great job," praised Coach Brew about his staff. "Limiting a top offense like Carson-Newman to one run is a big accomplishment. Carson-Newman has a great team and it was a good test for us as we get ready to hit the road for a few weeks."
The Flames will open the key seven-game road series against West Georgia. The three games are currently slated for Friday and Saturday. After a non-conference game against a team ranked in the top 10, Tusculum College, Lee will continue the road adventures at Alabama Huntsville on April 2-3 before returning home for a three-game series with Shorter University.
The Eagles actually out-hit the Flames 8-7. Tyler Thompson, Harrison Travis and Andrew Carpenter each had two of their team's eight hits. Carpenter and Micah Genter collected doubles. Corey Wilson was the starting and losing Carson-Newman pitcher. Over three innings, he gave up four hits and two earned runs. Matt Cole (3 innings), Ryan Smithson (1 inning) and Matt Bradley (1 inning) did not allow a run in the five innings they pitched.
