Cleveland, TN – Southern Wesleyan split the final two games of the series against the Lee Flames on Saturday afternoon.  They claimed the game one victory in a 5-4 final over 12 innings played before dropping game two in a 12-2 final score.

The Warriors picked up seven hits in the first game of the afternoon.  Both Clay Porter and Kelly Coleman led the team with two hits.  The Warriors walked nine times and stole six bases.  Both Marty Grisso and Travis Hammond had two stolen bases, while Porter and Jason Culley had solo steals.  Cam Mitchem recorded two of the four RBIs.  Kyle Dixon started on the mound and struck out three over 4.1 innings pitched.  Steven Mufareh (three strikeouts) and Christopher Hund (four strikeouts) came in to pitch in relief.

Southern Wesleyan had three hits in game two coming off the bats of Marty Grisso, Cam Mitchem and Derek Francis.  Grisso went on to have the lone RBI of the game.  The Warriors walked four times and both Grisso and Zachary Kim had stolen bases.  Gage Shaver started game two and pitched 1.1 innings while striking out one batter.  Six Warriors came in to pitch in relief.  Bryce Metts led the Warriors with two strikeouts.  Garrett Swink, Jackson Turner and Ash Faulk also recorded strikeouts.

Game Vitals

Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 5, Lee 4

Game Two Final: Lee 12, Southern Wesleyan 2

Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-2) Lee (2-1)

How It Happened

Game One

The Flames took the first run in game one as a ground out by Sisson in the bottom of the second inning allowed Miller to come in to score.

Southern Wesleyan tied the game up in the top of the third inning.  Clay Porter reached first on a walk before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch.  Marty Grisso walked to put runners on the corners.  As Tyler Jackson struck out swinging, Grisso stole second base to put both runners in scoring position.  On a sacrifice line out to left field off the bat of Cam Mitchem, Porter came in to score to tie the game up 1-1.

Lee regained the lead in the bottom of the third inning as Suta hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Collier in to score.

The Warriors continued to challenge the Flames as they plated their second run of the game in the top of the fourth inning.  With one out, Josh Long reached first on an error by the Flames third baseman and then advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Noah Wiggins walked.  A second wild pitch allowed both Long and Wiggins to advance ninety feet.  Travis Hammond hit a fielder's choice to the shortstop that brought Long in to score to tie the game once again.

Simmons homered in the bottom of the fourth inning to allow Lee to regain the lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, Tyler Jackson reached first after being hit by a pitch and then advanced to second on a wild pitch.  A fly out by Cam Mitchem allowed Jackson to advance to third.  Jackson came in to score on a throwing error by the Flames pitcher off a failed pick-off attempt.

Once again, Lee took the lead as a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed Suto to come in to score to give them a 4-3 run advantage.

However, the Warriors continued to put up a fight in the top of the sixth inning.  Travis Hammond led off with a walk and then stole second base.  With one out, Marty Grisso walked to put two runners on.  Hammond then stole third base.  With two outs and runners on the corners, Cam Mitchem hit a single through the left side to bring Hammond in to score and tie the game up.

Steven Mufareh and Christopher Hund came in to pitch in relief and prevented the Flames batters from taking the lead as they struck out a combined seven batters.  The Warriors went on the offensive in the top of the twelfth inning.  Cam Mitchem reached first after being hit by a pitch and then advanced to second base when Jack Dennison was walked.  With two on and Connor Truax pinch running for Dennison, Blayze Haddock singled down the third base line on a bunt to load up the bases.  Jason Culley reached first on a fielder's choice to bring Mitchem in to score and allow the Warriors to claim the first game in a 5-4 final score.

Game Two

Lee went on the offensive early in game two as they plated four runs in the first inning.  They extended their lead further in the bottom of the second inning as they brought in six more runs including three off a home run by Miller.

Southern Wesleyan brought their lone runs of the game in to score in the top of the sixth inning.  Jack Dennison led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch.  A ground out by Tyler Jackson allowed Dennison to advance to third.  Marty Grisso hit a single to center field to bring Dennison home.  Grisso then advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base.  A wild pitch brought Grisso home for the second run of the game for the Warriors.

The Flames went on to plate two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win game two in a 12-2 final score.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will host their home opener on February 6 as they welcome the Anderson Trojans to Dr. C Keith Connor Field.  The Warriors will then travel to Hickory, NC on February 9-10 to take on the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears.