After losing the first game 14-0, the Lee baseball team rode the strong arm of Jack Nedrow to a 4-2 victory in the final game of the doubleheader against University of Alabama at Huntsville as both teams opened GSC play on Saturday afternoon at Charger Park.
“It was two totally different games. You expect to come out in game one of a series and have a tight game, but it got of control in a hurry for us,” said Coach Mark Brew. “I was proud of our bounce back in game two. Nedrow put the team on his back and traded zeros with (Andres) Orselli until we got the two big swings from (Dylan) Standifer and (Cam) Suto.
It doesn’t matter how it looks and all you ask for is an opportunity to win the series on the road. And we have that in front of us tomorrow.”
Lee pitcher Sam Fulton pitched one inning and was charged with the loss in the opening game. The big right-hander was touched for only one hit but he walked three batters and was charged with six earned runs as his record slipped to 2-1 on the year. Keegan Gagliardo came on for the next three innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits. Jax Howard worked the final two innings and allowed three hits and no earned runs.
Connor Brooks pitched a one-hitter for the Chargers and evened his record to 1-1 on the year. In seven innings, he struck out four and walked one hitter. Huntsville pounded out 12 hits in the win and blasted five doubles. Mitchell Rottier was a perfect 3-of-3, scoring three runs and drove in three. Brock Butler and Brennan Vasquez doubled and plated three runs. Garrett Bodine had three hits and drove in three runs for the winners.
Nedrow pitched six innings and allowed four hits and one earned run in the nightcap. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out seven and walked only one in posting his first win of the year. Hunter Lane came on to pitch the final inning. He allowed a run on one hit, that being a homerun by Butler.
The contest was deadlocked at 0-0 until the top of the sixth inning. Noah Hattier started the inning with a walk and scored on a two-run homer by Dylan Standifer. It was Standifer’s third homerun of the year. In the same inning, Josiah Miller walked and scored when Cam Suto ripped his first homerun of the year to put the Flames up 4-0.
After Nedrow retired the side in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lane gave up a hit and an earned run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Isaac Quinones and Riley Black had Lee’s other hits in the win. Landon Ezzell had a hit and an RBI and Will Noles and Rottier had the other Charger hits in the loss.
The Flames improved to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in GSC. Huntsville moved to 6-4, 1-1. The two teams will decide the winner of the three-game series when they play again on Sunday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m.