CLEVELAND, Tenn.-Visiting Mississippi College took advantage of a pair of Lee errors in the second inning and put three runs on the board, never looking back in posting a 5-2 victory over the Flames to open the first of a GSC three-game series at Larry Carpenter Stadium on Friday evening.
The loss dropped Lee's record to 15-13 overall and 6-7 in the GSC. The Choctaws improved to 9-19, 5-8. The two clubs are slated to continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader. There is a possibility of an overnight rain that could delay the starting times.
The Choctaws also got solid pitching from starter Caleb Jacobs who worked seven innings and surrendered only three hits to the usual hard-hitting Lee club. While Jacobs (2-0) was credited with the victory, Jackson Smith came on in the eighth inning and worked two innings of one-hit ball to record the save.
On the other hand, Lee starting pitcher Cameron Land (2-2) probably deserved better in being charged with the loss. In five innings, he gave up five hits and five runs of only which three were earned. He struck out three and walked two. Keegan Gagliardo came on for 1.2 innings and allowed three hits but no runs. Tim Gooden was outstanding in the final 2.1 frames. The right-hander gave up only one hit while striking out six batters and walking one.
"It was a disappointing effort by my team. Mississippi College was ready to go and we weren't and that's on me," remarked Coach Mark Brew. "We've got to come out with more urgency and play a much cleaner brand of baseball on the defensive side and certainly need to put together some better at bats." All totaled Lee committed four costly errors.
At the plate, the Flames managed only five hits. Brandon Daniels had a pair of singles and drove home Cam Suto with a run in the sixth inning. The other Lee run came on a solo homer by Riley Black in the ninth.
In the eighth inning the Flames had one of their best rallies of the contest. Noah Hattier opened the inning with a walk and Dylan Standifer singled. With one out, Josiah Miller drove a ground ball that appeared headed for right field that would have plated Hattier and possibly kicked off a big inning. However, Choctaw second baseman drove toward first base and made the play of the game, nailing Miller at first. Daniels followed with a popup that ended the inning.
For Mississippi College, it was the one-two punch of JT Vance and Kolby McWilliams that helped sink the Flames. All totaled Vance had four hits, including a triple. He scored a pair of runs and stole two bases. McWilliams had two hits, two RBI and scored twice. Beau Kirsch had two hits while Jackson Breedlove put down a perfect safety squeeze that plated one of the three runs in the second inning.
