Flames Burn Mountain Lions

Ever since the 2015 baseball season began, Lee head coach Mark Brew has been waiting for the time when his Flames could enjoy a so-called easy victory. That type of win came on Wednesday evening when the Flames unloaded for 19 hits in posting the 15-1 victory over visiting Young Harris College.

"It has been a long time since we have had a game like this," said the smiling Brew after the non-conference victory.

"We got a chance to get everyone in the lineup tonight with the exception of a few pitchers. It seemed like every player we put in the game produced in the field or at the plate."

The Flames took the Mountain Lions out of the contest by the end of seven innings. They scored two runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings and then added three more runs in the sixth before finishing the offensive assault with six runs in the seventh.

At the same time, the Brew crew cooled the bats of the Mountain Lions with five pitchers. Dakota Fowler worked the first three and was impressive. He gave up only one hit and struck out three. Michael James followed with two innings of solid work. The lefty surrendered three hits and Young Harris' only run.

Carlos Ditren hurled the sixth and seventh innings and got credit for the pitching win. He allowed just two hits and fanned four Mountain Lions. Logan Campbell and Corbin Lamb finished the job for the Flames by working an inning apiece. Lamb struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.

"I was really pleased with the control our pitchers displayed," noted Brew. "Coach (Drew) French called our pitchers aside before the game and told them that we had been giving up too many freebies and we needed to start correcting that tonight." The hurlers listened and gave up only one walk over nine innings.

Sophomore catcher Nate Wierzgac had a career output at the plate. He delivered five hits in five trips. He scored a pair of runs and collected four RBI. Included in his five hits was a double. "Nate has enjoyed some good nights at the plate since joining our team last year," said Brew. "But this was certainly his best. He's been hitting the ball hard all season but a lot of those balls have gone right at one of the fielders."

Ben Holland ripped a 400-foot triple off the centerfield wall. He also singled, scored a run and knocked in another. Siosi Poti had a triple and a one-base hit. He crossed home plate three times, scoring once from first base on a single by Wierzgac. He finished the evening by taking time out to post three RBI. Trent Hill was not about to be outdone. He laced two hits, tallied three times and also had a RBI. Travis Perkola came on late but still had two hits, scored twice and got his name in the RBI column.

The RBIs did not stop there. Chris Adams doubled and drove home two runs. Andres Nelo had a RBI, while Cameron Scott came on to drill a two-base hit and collect his team's final run batted in.

Young Harris used nine pitchers over eight innings. Cole Amtmann was the second hurler of the evening and was charged with the defeat. However, it was Aaron Barfield who surrendered six runs while allowing five hits in Lee's six-run seventh inning.

The Mountain Lions did not have a player with more than one hit and Jared Campbell doubled for his team's only extra-base knock.

The Flames improved to 19-12-1 with the victory. They will move back into rugged Gulf South Conference play on Friday and Saturdaywhen they host Delta State in a three-game series at Olympic Field. Friday's action is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, while Saturday'sdoubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.