February 13, 2008

 

                East Point, GA—Following an exciting come-from-behind victory in the first of a two game set with Atlanta Christian, the Lions were hoping to dispose of the Chargers a little more handily in game 2. On the hill for the Lions, making his first collegiate appearance was junior Matt Hicks. Hicks pitched in high school, but has been one of the top bats in the Lions lineup since his freshman year. Used primarily as a DH/1B, Hicks volunteered his services on the mound in mid-week action to give the pitching staff a break. It seems the Lions have been sitting on a goldmine for 2 years, as Hicks was dominant on Wednesday, tossing a complete game 5-hitter.

                The game was an offensive struggle for both teams, as the Lions left 9 runners on base, and actually trailed the Chargers 1-0 until the 5^th inning. Michael Kent led off the inning with a walk and stole second to start the inning. Will Newman singled to center, scoring Kent and Brad Starnes singled again, putting runners on the corners with 1 out. J.D. Davis hit into a fielder’s choice, plating Newman for the second run of the inning, as Starnes was forced out at second. Davis stole second, and Ryan Keylon stepped to the plate and delivered a big 2-out single to center, scoring Davis with what would prove to be the winning run.    

                The Chargers would add a run of their own in the bottom half of the 5^th, after to Lions errors, but it was the last run they would manage to push across on the day. The Lions played yet another 1-run game, winning 3-2 and extending their record to 4-3. Despite the two wins, Lions’ head Coach Joel Johnson was not pleased with his team’s performance: “It’s nice to get back to winning after being swept last weekend,” said Johnson, “but I am not pleased with the performance we gave. Hicks was huge for us today and kept us in position to win, but we’ve got to be able to make adjustments at the plate and score more runs. We play Lee and Southern Polytech(Ga.) next week, and leaving 9 runners on base won’t get the job done. It was a little comforting to see that we were able to fight back, down 3 runs in the last inning in game 1, but I’d like to see us put that game away early so that we’re not in that type of situation. We’re still young and we’ll learn, but we need a few guys to step up and set the tone for us early in some ballgames.”

                The Lions will now return home and practice Thursday in preparation for this weekend’s 3 game set with Indiana Wesleyan University. The Wildcats open their 2008 season this weekend with the 3 game set, and will return to Dayton the following weekend for the inaugural Bryan College/Tennessee Temple University Invitational Tournament to be help February 22 & 23. Friday night’s first pitch is set for 4 PM.