Lee flexes muscle in 14-8 win over Union
Flames hit four home runs; Come back from 5-0 hole
LEWISTON, Idaho
- Trailing 5-0, No. 1 Lee (Tenn.) University (60-8) exploded for
eight runs and overcame No. 5 Union (Ky.) College (48-16) 14-8
this afternoon at the 2008 AVISTA-NAIA World Series from Harris
Field. Six of those runs came via three home runs. In all, four
different Flames smashed balls out of the park in front of 2,025
fans.
Union took the momentum first lighting the scoreboard for five
runs through the first two innings. The first batters of the
game, Kenny Kysar and Lioney Henriquez, would eventually score
on a sacrifice fly and a double. The Bulldogs then loaded the
bases in the top of the second with one out. UC took advantage
of an error by Lee's shortstop to score twice before an
RBI-single by Justin Hart. At that point, Union held a
comfortable 5-0 lead heading into the third.
The comfort level for the Bulldogs quickly evaporated as the Lee
bats woke up. Held without a hit before the third, Lee sent 12
batters to the plate and chased starter Marcus White in the
bottom half of the third. Clint Harrelson and Brian Bistagne hit
back-to-back home runs for the first time in the World Series in
two years.
When the dust cleared, Lee scored eight runs which tied the
highest output by a team thus far in the World Series.
Union's offense countered with two in the fourth and one in the
fifth to tie the score at 8-8. Two sacrifice flies and an
RBI-double by Brett McAlpin brought the underdogs back into the
game.
The top-seeded Flames took the lead for good with a four-spot in
the fifth frame to go up 12-8. The decisive hit was a two-run
single off the bat of Jeremy Hutslar. Hutslar finished the game
2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Lee pushed two
insurance tallies across courtesy of Chris Warters, who knocked
out his team-best 18th homer, in the eighth.
Jeff Ibarra, a lefty from San Marcos, Calif., entered in the
fifth inning and held the Union bats to one run on three hits.
He struck out four batters and did not record a walk to improve
to 10-2 on the year.
Bistagne wrapped up the game going 4-for-4 with two runs scored
and two RBI for Lee. Edgar Mercado added three hits in three
trips to the plate and scored twice.
For Union, Kysar and Henriquez each went 2-for-4 with a combined
five runs scored. The rest of the line-up went just 5-for-23
(.217).
Logsdon, who entered in the third inning for the Bulldogs, took
the loss falling to 4-2 on the mound. He gave up six runs on
five hits.
Lee continues in the winner's bracket and will play on Tuesday,
May 27 with the opponent to be announced later tonight. Union
falls to the loser's bracket and awaits its opponent later today
as well.
Despite the close proximity of the two schools, merely 184
miles, this meeting was the first in school history on the
baseball diamond.
