The Lee University baseball team recorded 14 hits in a 4-3, 10-inning win in its season finale at the University of West Florida. The Flames finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 27-23.
With a 13-20 record in the Gulf South Conference, Lee placed ninth in the regular season, two games shy of eighth place and earning a spot in the GSC Tournament.
“I’m glad we could send our seniors out on a winning note,” said Lee head coach Mark Brew. “We played well all day and got excellent pitching, including five innings of no-hit shutout baseball from (Michael) Ray, (Tyler) Burcham and (Jumpei) Akanuma.”
Drew Johnson led the Lee offense with four singles and two RBI. Spencer Mossburg added three hits and an RBI. Jordan Howard and Nathan Wierzgac tallied two hits each. Howard scored twice, while Wierzgac doubled and scored once.
“Mossburg, Johnson and Wierzgac led the way at the plate and freshman Chase Andrews had a big swing with the game-winning RBI in the 10th,” added Brew.
Geremy Walton, Andrews and Zack Zyburt rounded out the Lee batting with one single each.
Wes Albert started and did not factor into the pitching decision after five innings of work. Albert allowed three runs on five hits, walked two and struck out four. Ray and Burcham completed two innings each and did not allow any hits. Burcham was credited with the win to improve to 1-0 on the season. Akanuma faced three batters in the 10th inning, fanning one, to record his second save of the season.
Nick Kerkmann and Tanner Halstead split four of West Florida’s five hits. Kerkmann , Brandon Harmon and Michael Savas recorded RBIs for the Argonauts (26-22, 17-15 GSC).
Lee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning courtesy of RBI singles by Johnson and Mossburg. West Florida fought back to plate three runs in the fifth. Savas delivered an RBI single and Harmon tied the game with a sacrifice bunt. Kerkmann pushed the Argos into the lead with an RBI single through the right side of the infield.
Howard singled with one out in the seventh, advanced to third on Wierzgac’s double and crossed the plate via Johnson’s single to center. Wierzgac and Johnson led off the 10th inning with back-to-back singles and moved to second and third on Mossburg’s sacrifice bunt. Andrews delivered the eventual game-winning run with a single through the left side of the infield.
“It’s been an honor to coach these young me this year,” concluded Brew. “We will miss this senior group and wish them the best. They are all quality people and will be successful in future endeavors.”