GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Cam Suto drove in four runs and Malachi Cloud pushed three more runs across the dish as the Lee baseball team improved to 17-14 with a 10-6 victory over host Tusculum College (19-14) on Tuesday evening.
The Flames jumped on top in the first inning with two runs and never trailed. Cloud stroked a single that scored Brandon Daniels and Dylan Standifer in the frame. Lee extended the lead to 6-1 by the fourth inning. Cloud had a hit in the third to knock in his third run of the day and Suto followed with a single in the fourth that plated Standifer and Noah Hattier.
Standifer ripped his team-leading ninth homer of the year in the sixth inning. Suto, not to be outdone, followed with his eighth homer over the left-center field wall. Standifer has 38 RBI. The 8-1 lead held up until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Pioneers rallied for three runs to make it an 8-4 game.
Lee put a pair of insurance runs on the board in the ninth. Hattier's RBI single scored Ashton Simmons and Suto followed with his third hit and fourth RBI of the contest to put the Flames on top 10-4. Suto now has 37 RBI. Tusculum fought back for a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning before reliever Greyson Linderman came on to record the final out.
Suto and Cloud finished with three hits apiece while Hattier and Standifer each had a pair as did Adam Goolsby and Simmons. All totaled the Flames banged out 17 hits off six Tusculum pitchers.
Colt McKibben started and pitched the first three innings for the Flames. He allowed three hits and an earned run. Cole Matthaidess (1-0) followed for two innings and picked up the win. He did not allow a hit. Sean Casteel and David White also drew praise from Coach Mark Brew for quality pitching performances. All totaled the Flames used seven pitchers.
Tusculum has eight hits with Rudy Fernandez and Will Samuelson each had two hits and driving in a pair of runs. Drew Slibinski (0-3) was the starting and losing pitcher. A total of six pitchers worked for the Pioneers.
"It was a really good mid-week win for our team. I thought the first seven innings was some of the best we have showed all year. We had a couple of hiccups in the eighth and ninth, but we had enough to get it done," allowed Coach Brew after the 3 hour 15 minute contest ended.
"Our offense swung it well all night and we got some quality at bats throughout the lineup. Suto had a big night and I thought Matthaidess, Casteel and White looked locked in on the mound all game.
"We can turn our attention to a really good Valdosta State team. We need a couple of great days of practice to prepare for them," the coach concluded. The Flames are scheduled to play at Valdosta on Friday in a single game beginning at 5 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
