Baseball Flames Defeat Emmanuel In Opener

  • Friday, January 30, 2015

Senor Siosi Poti banged out four hits, including a home run, and Trenton Hill pitched six innings of three-hit ball as the Lee baseball team opened the 2015 season with a 10-1 victory over Emmanuel College. The squads will return to Olympic Field on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

The Lions grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third innning, but the Flames bounced back to tie the contest in the bottom of the same inning and never trailed again.

Lee took the lead with a single run in the fifth, tacked on two more in the sixth and three runs in the seventh and eighth to coast to the season-opening win.

Hill faced only 23 batters and threw 88 pitches in his six innings of work. The lefty from Maples Woods Community College (Ark.) struck out eight batters and issued one free pass. Ridge Ackerman, a 6-foot-5 junior from Lincoln Land Community College (Ill.) pitched the final three innings. He allowed two hits, fanned a batter and walked one.

While Poti drove in two runs and scored twice to go with his four hits, the senior outfielder had plenty of help. Ben Holland, a junior from Motlow State Community College, contributed three hits and senior catcher Josh Tate returned to action after missing most of last season with a leg injury and also ripped three hits and scored twice. All totaled, Lee pounded out 16 hits against four Emmanuel hurlers.

Luke Toms, a junior from Motlow State, posted a double and a single. Sophomore Cameron Scott doubled and Hill helped his own cause with a double. He finished with a pair of RBI and scored twice. Senior Andres Nelo scored twice and claimed a RBI. MJ Brown knocked in two runs with a hit, while Chris Adams joined the action with a hit and a RBI.

"I was overall pleased with how we performed today," said coach Mark Brew. "Hill and Ackerman did an excellent job on the mound and set the tone.  We hit a ton of balls hard up-and-down the lineup and I was very pleased with how relentless we were. We found a way to pull away in the last three innings.  Tate, Poti, and Holland had excellent days at the plate. Many others had solid days. I was very pleased with our offensive execution and aggressiveness on the bases."

Jacob Hudson pitched 5 2/3 innings and took the loss. He surrendered nine hits and four earned runs. Elliott Beard stroked a double and a single and joined Hannon Price as the only Lions with two hits. Daniel Sheal posted the last of five Emmanuel hits. Beard tallied the only score for the losers.

Brew noted that senior right-hander Dustin Lawson and junior righty Clevis Hoover will be the starting pitchers on Saturday. Hoover is a transfer from Volunteer State Community College, while Lawson is a veteran Lee hurler.  "It will be a different day tomorrow. Emmanuel has a solid club and we will have to get good performances on the mound from Lawson and Hoover. " 
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