Baseball team falls in two games at No. 2-ranked Lee, travels to Bluefield for AAC doubleheader this Saturday

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- In a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday at Olympic Field, the Reinhardt University baseball team fell in both games to the host Lee University Flames, who are ranked second nationally in the NAIA. The final score of the first game was 12-3 and the second was 10-0 in five innings.

 

Lee raced out to a 5-0 lead in the opener, scoring four times in the first inning and once in the third. Reinhardt got within two after tallying three runs in the top of the fourth inning, but the Flames answered with five runs in the bottom half and two more in the fifth.

The Eagles were outhit 9-4 and made five of the contest's eight errors. Lee had six stolen bases and Reinhardt none. The hosts left six runners on base and the Eagles five.

Josh Wilson finished 1-for-1 with a walk, sacrifice fly, two RBIs and a run scored for Reinhardt while Ethan Starr was also 1-for-1. Zach Kles went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored.

On the mound for the Eagles, Cory Cox got the start and suffered the loss after pitching 3 1/3 innings. Jake Waters threw 1 2/3 innings before freshman Trent Sheffield went the final inning, allowing no hits or runs with one strikeout and no walks.

In the second game, the Flames again put together a four-run first inning and then added one run in the third and five runs in the fourth. The contest ended in the middle of the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Lee ended with a 12-5 advantage in hits and stranded eight base runners to Reinhardt's four. The guests committed four errors and the Flames none.

For the Eagles, Brett Flick was 1-for-1 while Kles, freshman Phillip Bates, Jay Huffman and Billy King each finished with a hit in two at-bats.

Ryan McDowell was the starting and losing pitcher for Reinhardt after tossing one inning with a strikeout. Chris Fletcher and freshman CJ Oliva saw action on the hill before Sheffield faced one batter and struck him out.

The Eagles drop to 9-17 overall while Lee is 26-6. Reinhardt travels to play an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Bluefield College Ramblin' Rams on Saturday. The first game is set for 3 p.m. in Bluefield, Va.