Due West, SC – The Emmanuel Baseball team traveled to Due West, SC for their first conference series of the season against Erskine College. The Flying Fleet started out strong with a 7-2 win in game one. The two teams battled in game 2 with Erskine coming out on top, 7-6. The two teams traveled to Franklin Springs, GA for game three at Tommy Carey Field, and the Lions bats showed up and showed out taking down the Flying Fleet 17-10.
With the series loss, the Lions fall to 7-4 on the season.
GAME ONE –
After two scoreless innings, the Flying Fleet got on the board first in game one scoring 6 runs on 5 hits in the bottom of the 3
rd.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the 6
th when the Flying Fleet added a run on one hit to make it 7-0.
The Lions responded in the top of the 8
th.
Hayden Beall started the inning with a hit by pitch.
Landon Mokris walked to advance Beall to 2
nd.
Cameron Hancock was hit by a pitch to load the bases and
Zachary Bergstrom reached on an error to score Beall, cutting the Erskine lead to 7-1.
Dobbs Bowden grounded out to 2
nd to score Mokris, making it 7-2, Flying Fleet which would be the final score.
At the plate,
Zachary Bergstrom was 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
On the mound,
Ethan Pooler got the start. He went 4.0 innings and gave up 6 runs on 6 hits. He walked 4 batters and struck out 5.
Lucas Meehan relieved him, throwing 3.0 innings and giving up 1 run on 2 hits. He struck out 1 batter and walked 2.
JJ Neal closed out the game for the Lions, going 1.0 inning. He struck out one batter and gave up one hit.
GAME TWO
After a scoreless first inning, the Flying Fleet started things off with a run on 2 hits in the bottom of the 2
nd.
The Lions answered back in the top of the 4
th.
Landon Mokris singled up the middle to start things off.
Drew Knight followed that up with a 2-run homerun to left field to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. The Flying Fleet responded in the bottom half of the inning with 2 runs on 2 hits to make it 3-2, Erskine.
The Lions bats got back to work in the top of the 5
th.
Ryan Muniz reached on an error to start things off and
Jesus Cruz reached on a fielder's choice to put Muniz out at 2
nd.
Brock Wollin followed that up with a single through the right side to advance Cruz to 3
rd.
Hayden Beall walked to load the bases and Mokris took full advantage with a grand slam to make it 6-3, Lions. In the bottom half of the inning, the Flying Fleet tied things up at 6-6, scoring 2 runs on 2 errors.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the 7
th when the Flying Fleet scored 1 run on 2 hits to earn a 7-6 victory.
At the plate,
Landon Mokris led the way going 3-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI's.
Hunter Pirkle got the start on the mound, going 4.2 innings. He gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits. He struck out 5 batters and walked 2.
Noah Cantleberry relieved him to face 4 batters. He gave up 2 runs and struck out 1 batter.
Hunter Maddox earned the loss, throwing 1.1 inning and giving up 1 run on 3 hits. He struck out 1 batter and walked 1.
The teams will play game three at Emmanuel on Saturday at 5PM.
GAME THREE
The Lions jumped out to an early lead in game three.
Brock Wollin walked to start the inning.
Landon Mokris reached on a fielder's choice, with Wollin getting thrown out at 2
nd.
Hayden Beall reached on an error, with Mokris advancing to 2
nd.
Zachary Bergstrom walked to load the bases and
Dee Oliver singled to left field to bring home Mokris and Beall to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Drew Knight reached on an error to score Bergstrom to make it 3-0, Lions. In the bottom of the 1
st, the Flying Fleet scored 2 runs on 1 hit to make it 3-2, Lions.
The Lions bats exploded in the top of the 2
nd for 9 runs.
Dobbs Bowden singled to start the inning.
Ryan Muniz reached on an error to advance Bowden to 2
nd. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and
Jesus Cruz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Wollin singled to center to score Bowden and Muniz to make it 5-2, and Crus advanced to 3
rd. Mokris kept things going with a double to center field to score Cruz and Wollin to give the Lions a 7-2 lead. Belal doubled to score Mokris making it 8-2, Lions and Oliver kept inning going with a single to 3
rd.
Drew Knight tripled to score Oliver and Beall to give the Lions a 10-2 lead, and Knight scored on an error by the centerfielder to make it 11-2 and Muniz singled to score Bowden and give the Lions a 12-2 lead.
In the top of the 3
rd, the Lions got back to work. Mokris singled to start the inning. Beall walked to advance Mokris to 2
nd, and Oliver singled to the pitcher to load the bases. Knight was hit by a pitch to score Mokris, giving the Lions a 13-2 lead. Bowden reached on a fielder's choice to score Beall to make it 14-2, Lions.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the 5
th when the Flying Fleet scored 2 runs on 1 hit to make it 14-4, Lions.
In the bottom of the 6
th, Erskine got back to work scoring 5 runs on 2 hits to cut the Lions lead to 14-9.
The Lions got a run back in the top of the 7
th. Oliver walked to start the inning, advancing to 3
rd on a failed pickoff attempt. Knight walked to put runners on 1
st and 3
rd. Bowden was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Cruz walked to score Oliver to make it 15-9, Lions.
In the top of the 9
th, the Lions added two more runs to their lead. Oliver singled to start the inning. Bowden followed that up with a single of his own to advance Oliver to 2
nd. The runners advanced by stealing a base and Cruz singled to right field to bring two runs home, making it 17-9. The Flying Fleet added a run on 2 hits in the bottom half of the inning, but the Lions came away with the win, 17-10.
At the plate,
Dee Oliver went 4-5 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs.
Drew Knight went 2-3 with 4 RBIs and one run scored.
On the mound,
Brayden Pooler got the start. He went 0.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit. He walked 3 batters and struck out 1.
Zach Evans came in next, going 2.1 innings and giving up 1 hit. He walked 1 batter and struck out another.
Gavin Richardson earned the win, going 2.0 innings and giving up 2 runs on 1 hit. He walked 2 batters and struck out 2.
Barrett Barkley came in next, facing 4 batters. He gave up 4 runs on 2 walks.
Hunter Parks earned the save, going 4.0 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 3 batters.
The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday as they host Anderson University at Tommy Carey Field. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.