Eighth-ranked Trevecca Nazarene University scored five runs in the ninth inning and handed Lee a stunning 9-8 defeat on Olympic Field at Larry Carpenter Stadium on an excellent Tuesday evening for baseball.
The Flames never trailed until the ninth and held an 8-4 lead entering the inning. The Trojans opened the frame with a single, followed by a two-base hit. With one out, Shawn Wallwork singled to drive home two runs. After a fly-out Roland Ryan had a one-base knock, followed by a towering three-run homer by Braden Odom to put the visitors on top for the first time in the contest, 9-8.
Trevecca quickly went to their bullpen in the bottom of the inning and called on closer Jack Keele. The right-hander struck out three straight Flames and picked up his seventh save of the year to give the Trojans the victory and improve their record to 30-7 on the year. Trevecca marched eight pitchers, including three weekend starters, to the mound. Alex Deriggi worked two innings and was credited with the win.
"There is no other way to describe it. This is a tough one to take," said a disappointed Lee coach Mark Brew after the loss, which dropped the Flames to 19-19. "We knew Trevecca had a big-inning offense and they showed it by scoring eight of their nine runs in two innings."
After the Flames had jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, the Trojans made it a 4-3 game by scoring three of their nine runs in the fourth inning. Jordan Jackson singled, followed by Ryan's 16
th homerun of the year. Bryant Goolsby got into the act by ripping his seventh homer in the same inning.
In the first inning, Lee started its scoring when Thomas Zazzaro singled. With one out Dylan Standifer promptly ripped his fifth homerun over the left-field wall. Brandon Daniels had a hit, Issac Quinones was hit by a pitch, Cam Suto loaded the bases with a single and Riley Majano collected an RBI with a sac fly. Jake Edwards rounded out the three-run inning with his one-base blow that scored Quinones.
Lee added a run in the fifth on a double by Justen Freeman and an RBI single by Daniels. A pair of homeruns by Edwards and Zazzaro in the sixth made it a 7-3 game. The Flames tacked on another run in the seventh. Daniels walked and went to second on a passed ball. He advanced to third on an error and scored on a sac fly by Jared Demkowicz.
The Flames used four pitchers. Alan Zhang was sharp for the first two innings. He struck out three of the six batters he faced and did not allow a hit. Sean Casteel got into trouble in 1.2 innings and allowed three hits and three earned runs. Tim Gooden was impressive for 2.1 innings and allowed just one hit and no runs. Sam Fulton came on for two innings and gave up an earned run before Zazzaro pitched the ninth and was tagged with the loss.
"I thought our offense was solid all night (13 hits) and Carter, Fulton and Gooden really did a nice job on the mound. We've got to regroup quickly and get ready for a vastly improved Christian Brothers team. I expect us to bounce back and play well this weekend," noted Brew. The Flames will host the Bucs for a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader to be at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
