February 2, 2008

 

                Dayton, TN—After months of anticipation and practice the Bryan College Lions took the field on Saturday afternoon to kick off the 2008 baseball season. The Lions squared off with the Preachers of Johnson Bible College under less than ideal conditions as heavy rains late in the week soaked the infield and made for sloppy play.

               Rhea County product Daniel Zimmerman took to the mound in the top half of the first and proceeded to set down the Preachers 1-2-3.The Lions then came bursting out of the gates quickly, scoring 5 runs in the first on the strength of a Matt Hicks three-run double. Zimmerman would proceed to throw 2 more perfect innings, leaving the game with a 9-0 lead and the game well in hand. After Zimmerman left the game, Jared Robin and Jeremiah Peters combined to complete the no hitter, narrowly missing the perfect game by walking two JBC batters in the 4^th inning.

Bryan delivered a couple of notable big blows in the opening game Saturday, with Freshman Ryan Keylon hitting a shot over the wall in left center for his first career homerun. Senior Michael Kent added another homerun later in the game to extend the lead to 15. The Lions would tack on 1 more run in the 4^th inning to defeat Johnson Bible by the mercy rule in 5 innings, 16-0. The No-Hitter is the second in program history, the first being a complete game No-Hitter by Lions hurler Will Stokes last season over Rio Grande(OH).

Other notables: The Lions hit 4 doubles in the opening game, coming off the bats of Hicks, Brad Starnes, Michael Hogsett and Zack Bowe. Bryan also added two triples, one by Jason Henderson and another by freshman J.D. Davis. In Jeremiah Peters' only inning of work, the Lions' Senior was perfect, striking out the side in order.