Just as in the first two games of the three-game series against Mississippi College, the baseball contest went right down to the final inning before the host Choctaws pulled off an 11-10 victory.
“What a battle between two very good teams,” remarked head coach Mark Brew after the tough loss. “It was back and forth all weekend. If we play better defense or eliminate walks, especially late in games, we would have found a way to win the series. They capitalized on every mistake we made and Mississippi College has too good of a team to give them extra outs.”
The Flames jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the first three innings before the Choctaws regained the lead at 6-4 after six innings of play.
Lee rallied for two runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to take 10-9 lead. The Choctaws countered with a solo run in the seventh, added two more in the eighth and posted a pair of runs in the ninth to walk off with the 11-10 win.
Lee had 14 hits but committed four costly errors. Mississippi College banged out 16 hits while committing two miscues. The Choctaws used four pitchers and Ryan Lane picked up the win after hurling the last two innings.
The Flames also used four hurlers. Jumpei Akanuma was the starter and worked 6.1 innings. He battled through 14 hits and gave up just four earned runs. Joe Parete, John Reese Gilmer and David Pattinson followed. Pattinson was charged with the defeat.
Dalton Ney had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double and scoring two runs. Tyler Payne, Jordan Howard, Miguel Pimentel, Chase Gadau and Spencer Mossburg collected two hits apiece. Howard, Gadau and Mossburg homered. Gadau and Ney drove in three runs apiece, while Payne and Mossburg had two RBI.
Mossburg blasted a homer in the top of the ninth to put the Flames on top 10-9 but the never say die Choctaws produced a rally of their own in the bottom of the inning to salvage the three-game series, 2-1. Billy Cameron and Fulton Johnson stroked doubles for the winners, while Blaine Crim homered.
“I was really proud of our resilience at the plate all weekend,” praised the Lee skipper. “We showed a lot of composure and toughness and swung the bats really well. We have to continue battling as a team and find a way to turn the result in these close games into our favor.”
The Flames will not have any mid-week games but will continue their GSC road adventures next weekend at Union University. A single game is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.