April 8, 2008

                Bluefield, Va.—After a weekend washout, the Lions traveled to the mountains of Virginia for a must-win double header on Monday against the Bluefield College Rams. The two teams were deadlocked in the conference standings, and the Lions needed a victory to put them into position for a run into the post-season. With only the top 8 teams making the AAC Tournament, Bryan will needed at least a split to keep its’ hopes of a tournament appearance alive.

                The Lions got it going offensively early, scoring 3 first inning runs on a 1-out double by Michael Kent (Sr., Lookout Mtn., GA) that was followed by singles from Will Newman (Jr., Dayton, TN), Jeremiah Peters (Sr., Sherwood, AR) and J.D. Davis (Fr., Atlanta, GA). With the 3-0 lead, Junior lefthander Daniel Bosarge(Jr., Rome, GA) took the mound and retired the Rams in order in the bottom of the 1^st inning.

                The Lions continued their offensive attack, plating runs in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings to jump out to a 5 run lead. Bosarge continued to stifle the Rams until the 4^th inning, when Bluefield managed to score 4 runs. After Bosarge bobbled a possible double-play chance, eventually getting just one out at 1^st base, the Lions mishandled a sacrifice bunt, allowing the runner to reach safely and an error by Bryan 3^rd baseman Will Newman allowed the Rams to get on the board. A double plated 2 more runs and another single pushed the 4^th run of the inning across for the Rams, chasing Bosarge from the game. Adam Polston (Fr., Palmyra, TN) came on in relief of Bosarge and ended the threat.

                With the lead cut to 5-4, the Lions’ bats delivered again, scoring one more run in the 5^th to extend their lead. The Lions scored 2 more runs in the 7^th and 1 in the 8^th inning to again extend the lead to 9-4, but Bluefield threatened with a run of their own in the 7^th and 2 more in the 8^th, drawing to within 2 runs, 9-7. Ben Young (So., Baton Rouge, LA) worked the final 2 innings, allowing only 1 hit and no runs to close out the victory for the Lions, 9-7.

                Game 2 saw the Lions bats go cold in the early going, falling behind 5-0 after the first 2 innings. Bryan got on the board in the 2^nd, as J.D. Davis scored 2 with a single through the left side of the infield, his 5^th hit of the afternoon.  Bryan starter Daniel Zimmerman (So., Grandview, TN) held the Rams scoreless the rest of the way, but the Lions could not overcome the 5-2 deficit, as Bluefield held on for the 5-2 victory. Zimmerman was credited with the complete game loss, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings of work. The split moves the Lions to 14-19 on the year, and 4-8 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. More importantly, the Lions remained in front of the Rams in the conference standings.

                The Lions were led offensively with big days from Peters and Davis who combined to go 11-16 on the day with 4 RBIs and 5 runs scored. Michael Kent also had a big day, going 3-for-5 in the first game, only lacking a homerun for the cycle. The Lions had 6 extra base hits in game one, belting 3 triples and 3 doubles in the 18 hit attack. The two teams combined for 31 hits in the day’s first game, and 44 hits total on the afternoon.

Next up for the Lions is a doubleheader in Dayton with the Berry College Vikings, followed by another twinbill in Henderson, TN with the Freed Hardeman University Lions. Bryan will cap the busy week with an AAC showdown with the Virginia Intermont College Cobras on Saturday.