ROME, Georgia – Solid pitching, error-free baseball and timely hitting spelled series sweep for the Lee baseball team as the Flames defeated Shorter University 7-1 and 10-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Ledbetter Complex. On Friday, Lee opened the key series with a 7-4 victory over the Hawks. 

"What an awesome job by our team today. The pitching and defense were excellent all day and we took advantage of some mistakes they made defensively and were able to deliver some big swings in both games. This team is continuing to battle, and this was one of our more complete weekends we've played in a while," explained Coach Mark Brew after his club evened its record at 17-17 overall and 10-10 in Gulf South Conference play. 

Game 2 – Lee 10, Shorter 0 
Nate Bynum enjoyed one of his biggest days of the year. In the second game of the doubleheader, Bynum was 2-of-3 with a homerun, single and three RBI. For the day he was 4-of-8 with five RBI and two runs scored. 

The Flames broke open the scoreless game with two runs in the third inning. Bynum walked and Thomas Zazzaro reached on an infield single. Justen Freeman singled home Bynum and Zazzaro later scored on a ground out by Dylan Standifer. 

The margin was extended to 4-0 in the fourth. Issac Quinones had a one-base hit and Jared Demkowicz was hit by a pitch. Jake Edwards put down a sacrifice bunt that pushed the runners to second and third. Bynum posted a pair of RBI on a deep one-base knock to shortstop.  

Thanks to some timely defensive play and some solid pitching by Jack Nedrow, the Flames waited until the top of the seventh inning to build on the lead. Bynum continued his day with a four-bagger down the left-field line. Not to be outdone, Zazzaro doubled to left and later scored on an error by the Hawks. Brandon Daniels drilled a homer over the right-field fence. Cam Suto walked, and Quinones got into the act with a two-run dinger over the left-field fence. Demkowicz was hit by a pitch again and Edwards pushed Demkowicz across the plate with a solid double to deep left-center.  

Nedrow improved his record to 5-4 by going the distance. He allowed six hits, walked only one man, and struck out four. The Hawks used six pitchers and Tyler McWillie was charged with the loss. 

The Flames will return to action on Tuesday and will host 7^th-ranked Trevecca Nazarene in a single nine-inning contest at Larry Carpenter Stadium beginning at 6 p.m. A big South Regional three-game series is slated for next Friday and Saturday when the Flames will host No. 1-ranked University of Tampa. 

Game 1 – Lee 7, Shorter 1 
The Flames took advantage of seven errors by the Hawks and banged out 10 hits in the victory. Solid pitching was also a feature in the opener. Miguel Alba (2-2) started and worked seven solid innings and picked up the victory. He allowed five hits, one earned run, struck out six and walked three. Sean Casteel came on for 2/3 of an inning. He allowed a hit and walked two. Tim Gooden pitched 1 1/3 innings of excellent baseball. He did not allow a hit, no walks and fanned one. 

Lee jumped on top 1-0 in the first inning. Thomas Zazzaro and Justen Freeman walked. After Zazzaro was caught attempting to steal, Brandon Daniels followed with a single to left that scored Freeman.  

After the Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the first, the Flames took the lead for good with two runs in the fifth inning. Zazzaro ripped a homer over the left-center field fence, his second four-bagger of the series. Daniels reached on a throwing error and advanced to second. Cam Suto also reached on another throwing error that allowed Daniels to score the second run of the inning and put the Flames on top 3-1. 

The margin reached 5-1 in the top of the sixth inning and again errors played a part in the Lee rally. Issac Quinones and Jake Edwards reached on errors, followed by a big two-run single by Nate Bynum. The Flames added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Freeman and Dylan Standifer banged out hits. Daniels put down a bunt and reached on an error to load the bases. Suto drilled a hit that plated Freeman and Quinones was credited with an RBI when his fly ball to left scored Standifer.  

Daniels, Suto and Bynum had two hits apiece in the Lee win. Zazzaro collected his third homer of the year. In fact, it was Lee's only extra-base hit of the contest.