SAINT LEO, Florida – The Lee University baseball team's run to the final of the NCAA DII South Region ended on Sunday afternoon when the Flames were defeated by Rollins College, 7-3 at Saint Leo's Thomas B. Southard Park.
Earlier in the day Lee defeated host Saint Leo 9-5 to earn the right to face Rollins in the championship round. It would have taken two wins over the unbeaten Tars for the Flames to advance to the Super Region.
"What a run by this team. We sat at 12-17 at one point and ended up playing our way to a region final, capturing the GSC Conference championship along the way," said Lee head coach Mark Brew. "My hat is off to my staff and to the team for turning things around. Sometimes teams underachieve, but this team left it all on the field and maximized its potential."
Coach Brew went on to thank his seniors. "I want to thank Thomas (Zazzaro), Justen (Freeman), Alan (Carter), Jared (Demkowicz), Miguel (Alba), and Dallas (Schultheis) for your commitment for our program. You have left a mark on our program, and you are great young men and I love each of you. It's been an honor to coach and work with you as you led our team through this special season."
Rollins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Lee rallied back in the bottom of the third on a homerun by Isaac Quinones and tied the game in the fourth when Brandon Daniels singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Quinones.
Rollins took the lead again in the fifth on a solo homerun by Adams Torres and took control of the game in the sixth when they scored three runs on three singles and a hit batter.
The Flames tried to rally in the sixth and had three hits but a couple of defensive plays by the Tars allowed Jared Demkowicz to score the only run in the frame. Quinones continued his fine day at the plate when he collected his third RBI of the day with a single. Zazzaro and Daniels had two hits apiece for the Flames.
Rollins salted the victory away and the celebration was on as their pitching turned back the final Lee challenges. The Tars used three pitchers and allowed Lee nine hits. Tate Stone-Frisina worked 5.1 innings and picked up the victory. Austin Long pitched the final three innings and got the save.
Workhorse Sam Fulton pitched 5.1 innings for the Flames and was charged with the loss. Brycen Jewell followed for 2.1 innings. Sean Casteel came on for 0.2 as did Greyson Linderman.
In the 9-5 win over Saint Leo, Daniels finished with three hits, Dylan Standifer had a pair of hits including a double, Zazzaro tripled, and Joshua Perez had a two-base hit. Luke Hughes was a perfect 3-of-3 including a two-base hit and drove in three runs.
Alan Zhang Carter was the story of the game. He pitched three innings and did not give up a hit, striking out five batters and not walking a man. Cameron Land started and pitched 4.2 innings. Hunter Lane worked 1.1 innings and allowed two hits and one earned run. He was credited with the pitching win while Carter got his second save of the year.
