Surging Union University used timely hitting, steady fielding and clutch pitching to capture the first two games of a three-game series on Saturdayafternoon at Olympic Field. The Bulldogs jumped on the Lee Flames in the early innings of both contests to pull out 11-4 and 5-3 victories.
The Flames celebrated their annual Military Appreciation Day before an overflowing crowd but the visiting Bulldogs spoiled a portion of the event played on the baseball diamond.
The two teams will return to Olympic Field
on Sunday afternoon at
1 p.m. to conclude the three-game Gulf South Conference series.
With the two wins, Union improves to 25-12 overall and 14-8 in the GSC standings. The Flames dropped to 21-17 and 9-7.
“We definitely have our backs to the wall as we seek to find ways to put runs on the board,” said head coach Mark Brew after the two losses. “We left 16 runners on base in the two games and it’s hard to win any contest when that happens. Union jumped on us in the early innings of both games and we were never able to claim the lead in either game. We will keep working to try to find ways to correct some of our current problems.”
Game 1, Union 11, Lee 4
The Bulldogs scored five runs in the first inning to claim a quick 5-2 lead. They added two more scores in the fourth and put the game far out of reach with three more tallies in the sixth and another run in the seventh inning.
Nolan Milton drove in three runs with his 10th homer of the season for the winners. Zach Phillips also homered and doubled, while Austin Orr tripled. Dylan Moore and Hayden Lewis joined in with doubles. Orr, hitting in the No. 9 position, picked up four hits and collected three RBI. He also scored twice.
Tyler Payne was the only Flame with two hits. He also drove in one of Lee’s runs. Jordan Howard had one hit and a RBI, while Geremy Walton tripled and scored a run. Nate Wierzgac, Drew Johnson, Spencer Mossburg and Jeffrey Chapuran also hit safely in the loss. Walton, Mossburg, Peyton Meeker and Chapuran tallied Lee’s runs.
Jumpei Akanuma (1-4) was the Lee starting pitcher and was charged with the loss. He allowed seven hits, seven earned runs, struck out five and walked two. Jay Prior came on for 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs. John Reese Gilmer worked the final two innings and surrendered two hits and no runs.
JR Miller (6-1) was the winning hurler. He pitched seven innings of eight-hit ball, allowing two earned runs while striking out seven and walking three. Austin Kitterman hurled the final two innings and gave up one run.
Game 2, Union 5, Lee 3
Much like the first game, the Bulldogs put four runs on the board in the first inning and added a big insurance run in the sixth. The Flames fought back with a single tally in the first and scored two more times in the third.
Opportunity after opportunity went by the board when the Flames put runners on base but could not collect the big hit. In the fourth inning, they loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t score and then threatened again in the fifth inning after Dalton Ney doubled with two outs.
Lee put a single run on the board in the first when Jordan Howard singled and Walton reached on an error. Wierzgac promptly delivered a double to score Howard but Lee left two runners aboard when Union’s starting pitcher Teddy Christie retired the Flames with the sacks jammed and nobody out.
Lee scored its final two runs in the third inning. Howard doubled and scored on Wierzgac’s two-run homer over the left-field wall. Wierzgac finished the afternoon with three hits in four trips to the dish. Payne and Zach Zyburt also had one-base knocks in the loss.
After giving up four runs in the first inning, Lee’s Rob Gustitus settled down and allowed only one run the rest of the afternoon. The right-hander (3-3) toed the rubber for 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and five earned runs. He struck out six and walked four. Kit Larson came on for 1.1 innings and gave up one hit and picked up a strikeout.
Pitching was the name of the game for the Bulldogs. Christie started and hurled 3.1 innings of six-hit ball. He gave up three earned runs, struck out five and walked two. Joe Hudson came on to put down a Flame threat in the bottom of the fifth inning by recording a strikeout and a fly-ball out. All totaled, in 2.2 innings, Hudson gave up just one hit and struck out four Flames. Marty Coursey came on to hurl the seventh and picked up the save.