CARROLLTON, Georgia – It was a tale of two different games on Friday afternoon at Cole Field on the campus of University of West Georgia. The Lee baseball team run-ruled (7 innings) in the opener 13-0 but after jumping out to an early lead in the second game of the doubleheader, the Flames found themselves battling back in the bottom of the eighth inning to claim a 13-11 victory, in a contest that lasted almost four hours.
The Friday sweep improved the 6
th-ranked Flames to 20-2 overall and more importantly 19-1 in the GSC standings. West Georgia slipped to 10-12 in league play. The two clubs are slated to complete the three-game series on Saturday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
"It's great to get the series on day one, but West Georgia has a really good line up and will be ready to go tomorrow. We will need to come out and get another big offensive performance out of our team and a quality start from Chandler Ring," explained Coach Mark Brew.
Game 2 – Lee 13, West Georgia 11
Colton Yeager delivered a double down the left-field line in the eighth, plating Justen Freeman, who had earlier tripled, and Alan Smith and Dylan Standifer, who had walked to load the bases. Yeager finished the game with three hits and five RBI.
After regaining the 13-11 advantage, Coach Brew wasted no time in going to his bullpen and calling on ace closer Andy Rivera to pitch the final two innings. The right-hander delivered again. Over two innings he did not allow a hit and fanned four in picking up his sixth save of the year. Alan Carter, who hurled only 0.2 innings was credited with the victory and improved to 3-0 on the year.
"We struggled holding leads in the second game, but I have to give our guys credit. We stayed in the fight all night and kept bouncing back until we got Rivera on the mound to lock it down late. Yeager had a huge at bat with the 0-2 count bases clearing double," remarked Coach Brew after the long contest.
Alex Harper-Cook started and pitched the first four innings, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs. Alan Rickman and Michael Hendricks came on before Carter and Rivera helped seal the deal.
Freeman had three hits including a triple. Smith continued his work at the plate with three hits, including a homer. Landon Silver blasted a home run that drove in three runs in the top of the third. Thomas Zazzaro had a hit and scored twice while Brycen Jewell also hit safely and scored a run.
The Wolves got home runs from Brody Wortham and Ethan Brant. Wortham also doubled and Lane Griffin had a pair of two-base knocks as West Georgia out-hit the Flames 15-13. The Wolves used five pitchers and Sawyer Steele was charged with his first loss of the year.
Game 1 – Lee 13, West Georgia 0
Ryan Beamish led the 16-hit Lee attack with three home runs and seven RBI while Smith contributed a homer, double and single. He finished the seven-inning run rule contest with five runs batted in as the senior twosome accounted for 12 of the Flames RBI on a perfect baseball afternoon.
While Beamish and Smith were doing the heavy work at the plate, Logan Workman, the national pitcher of the week, improved his record to 4-0. He allowed four hits, struck out 10 and walked two in his seven-inning performance.
"Logan Workman once again gave us a big performance, but the hitters really stepped up led by Beamish and Smith. That's huge production out of middle of line up, but Freeman and Zazzaro did a great job setting the table," pointed out Brew.
Freeman was perfect at the dish (3-of-3) and scored three runs. Zazzaro had a pair of hits and crossed the plate three times. Standifer and Brandon Daniels collected Lee's other hits.
The Flames wasted no time in grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Zazzaro walked, Freeman singled and Smith reached on a fielder's choice before Beamish unloaded his three-run homer. The margin reached 5-0 in the second inning. Joshua Perez was safe on a fielding error. Zazzaro singled and Smith doubled to deep center field that scored Zazzaro and Perez.
Lee increased the lead to 7-0 in the fourth. Again, Zazzaro started the rally with a one-base knock. Freeman followed with a single to right. Smith doubled, scoring Zazzaro. Standifer collected a RBI with a one-base hit that scored Freeman. The assault continued in the sixth when three more runs went up on the board to increase the lead to 10-0. Freeman continued his hot afternoon with another single and Smith followed with a two-run homer. Not to be outdone, Beamish stepped to the dish and quickly blasted a shot over the right-field wall.
Three more runs gave the Flames a 13-0 lead in the seventh. Zazzaro walked. Nate Sumner was hit by a pitch and Beamish completed the best game of his Lee career with another three-run shot to right. Yeager joined the attack with a three-hit day.
Andrew Smith suffered his first pitching defeat of the year. He hurled four innings, allowing nine hits and six earned runs. Tripp Church worked the final three innings and gave up seven hits and six earned runs. Brody Wortham, the Wolves leading hitter on the year, had a double and a single in the loss. Jason Fointno singled for the only other West Georgia hit.
