CLEVELAND, Tenn.-There was some good news and bad news in Saturday's GSC baseball doubleheader against visiting Shorter University at Larry Carpenter Stadium. The Flames won the opening game 3-1 and claimed a spot in next week's conference tournament but lost the second contest 7-6.
"Overall we found a way into the tournament. It's going to be a battle in Oxford with eight really good teams. If we can find some starting pitching and get our offense clicking we can make some noise," commented Coach Mark Brew as his team prepares for the conference playoffs in Oxford, Alabama which begins next weekend.
A couple of conference games were delayed because of rain on Saturday and will not be resumed until Sunday. The results of the contests will also mean that Lee will have to wait until those results are posted before learning who they will play in the opening round of the GSC tournament.
Game 1 – Lee 3, Shorter 1
The Flames rode the solid 7.2 innings of pitching from Jack Nedrow (6-2) in posting the victory and earning a trip to Oxford, Ala. The right-hander allowed only two hits and an earned run. He fanned four and walked one. Hunter Lane picked up his seventh save of the year. In 1.1 innings Lane was perfect and struck out four Hawk hitters.
Lee made the best of four hits in the win. The contest was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning. Noah Hattier took advantage of a crazy bounce that resulted in a double to begin the inning. With one out, Cam Suto reached on an error. Brandon Daniels put the Flames on top with a sac fly that scored Hattier. Malachi Cloud walked. Suto scored on an error and Isaac Quinones drove in the third run of the inning with a one-base hit.
After Shorter scored their only run of the game in the top of the eighth inning, Lane came on to replace Nedrow and recorded four straight outs to seal the Lee victory and send the Flames to Oxford. Hattier was the only Flame with two hits in the victory.
"Nedrow did a tremendous job in a game we had to have. Hunter (Lane) was solid out of the bullpen and Quinones had a huge swing late to get us the lead," praised Coach Brew.
Game 2 – Shorter 7, Lee 6
The Hawks scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning and a rally by the Flames turned up a run short in the loss. Lee slipped to 26-23 overall and completes conference play at 15-15. Shorter improved to 27-20, 16-13.
Shorter jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the top of the second inning but the Flames scored two runs in the bottom of the inning and two more in the bottom of the third to tie the contest at four. In the second, Daniels singled, Cloud was hit by a pitch and Riley Black pushed the runners to second and third with a bunt. Nate Bynum and Ashton Simmons picked up RBI singles to make it a 4-2 game.
In the third, Dylan Standifer drew a walk. Suto doubled down the left-field line and Standifer scored on a sac fly by Daniels. Black picked up an RBI that tied the game when he had a one-base hit that scored Suto.
Shorter went back up 5-4 in the top of the sixth but Lee came right back to tie the contest in the bottom of the inning. Hattier had a one-base knock, took second and third on wild pitches and scored on a single by Suto.
It was the Hawks' turn to turn the battle in their favor in the seventh by plating two runs with four straight singles and a key error by the Flames. Norman Leon and Kobe Jones started the inning and later scored. Tyler McWillie collected an RBI single while Jones scored on the error by Lee.
A rally by the Flames came up a run short in the bottom of the inning. Cloud doubled followed with a double by Black. Bynum drove in a run with a hit and Black also scored to make it a one-run game. A squeeze play saw Simmons put down a bunt but Bynum was nailed at the plate. Hattier popped up to end the comeback attempt.
Lee out-hit Shorter 13-11. Black was 3-for-3 while Suto and Cloud had doubles and singles in the loss. Frankie Volkers started for the Flames and worked 1.2 innings. He allowed four hits and three earned runs. Greyson Linderman followed with 3.1 quality innings. He allowed only two hits and no runs. Jax Howard pitched 1.1 innings and surrendered three hits and two earned runs and was charged with the loss. Tim Gooden faced two batters and gave up two hits.
"Our bullpen gave us a chance to battle back and our offense was much better. We had some opportunities but they made some big pitches in the end," pointed out Coach Brew.
Shorter used six pitchers in the win. McWillie (1-0) was the fifth pitcher and got credit for the win. He also had a homerun and a single at the plate while collecting a pair of RBI. Thomas Schroeder added two hits and two runs batted in.
