The Lee University baseball team wasted no time in getting out of the gate quickly and putting five runs on the scoreboard in the first inning and three more in the third. Coach Mark Brew’s team turned away a comeback attempt by host Valdosta State to win the opening game of the GSC three-game series at Billy Grant Field on Friday evening, 14-8. Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Malachi Cloud and Luke Collier led the Flames 14-hit attack while Cooper Casteel (6-3) was Lee’s starting pitcher and picked up the win.
Will Baker came on for the final 2.2 innings to help preserve the victory for the Flames. Casteelpitched 5.1 innings allowing seven hits and four earned runs. He struck out six and walked two. Hunter Lane worked an inning while Baker was perfect in his time on the mound. He surrendered a pair of hits but no runs, no walks and fanned four.
In the meantime, Malachi Cloud blasted a double, homerun and a single. He finished with five big RBI. Collier had a double and three singles while scoring three times. Josiah Miller also homered to go along with his one-base hit. He posted three RBI and tallied twice. Tucker Platt got into the act with two single knocks and two runs scored plus a RBI. Ashton Simmons collected two RBI with his hit while JJ Williams also knocked in a run with a hit.
The Flames went right to work in the first. Williams walked, Collier singled and Isaiah French got the game’s first RBI with a single. Malachi Cloud came up with his first big hit of the contest when he doubled home French and Collier. Miller put the icing on the cake with his four-bagger that scored Cloud.
After the Blazers had rallied back to cut the margin to 5-2 in the bottom of the first, Lee went right back to work in the top of the third inning. Platt got things started with a base hit. Miller was hit by a pitch. With two outs and the bases loaded, Levi Cloud drove in a run the easy way with a walk. Simmons plated two runs with his one-base knock.
Lee added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Miller registered a RBI with a ground out that scored Malachi Cloud in the fifth. The sixth inning saw Collier double and score on Platt’s single.
Valdosta State was not about to surrender the game without a fight. The host team posted a pair of runs in the sixth and four more runs in the seventh to slice the margin to 10-8. Three runs in the top of the eighth by the Flames ended the suspense. Collier and Platt picked up free passes. With two outs, Malachi Cloud delivered the blow of the night with his three-run homer to make it a 13-8 score. A bonus run in the top of the ninth came when Levi Cloud walked, stole second and scored on a two-base knock by the ever-present Collier.
The Blazers used five pitchers in the loss. Zac Dodson (4-6) was the starter and charged with the loss. He worked 2.2 frames. Anthony Martens followed with the longest stint of the night for VSU. In 3.1 innings he allowed four hits but only one earned run. Three other hurlers worked an inning apiece.
The top of the Blazer order turned in the majority of the production in the loss. DJ Banks recorded a double and two singles. He scored two runs and collected a RBI. Pedro Moreno had two hits and two runs scored as did Orlando Pena. Hunter Stowe added a homer and garnered four RBI.
Coach Mark Brew’s thoughts:
“Our guys showed a lot of toughness after they narrowed the lead to 10-8. We played some poor defense to allow them back into it, but I was proud of how we responded. We had a big offensive day and that is huge on a Friday night in the GSC. Casteel did a solid job and Baker continues to give us big outs out of the pen. Tomorrow will be another tough day and we will have to play cleaner defense to get the series.”
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