March 22, 2008

                Bristol, TN—Heading into their 4^th conference weekend of the year, the Lions traveled to Bristol, TN on Saturday to take on the King College Tornado in a 2 game set. Bryan entered the doubleheader with a record of 11-15 having lost their last 3 conference matchups, while King boasted a record of 15-6 overall and 4-2 in the AAC.

                Taking the ball in game 1 for the Lions was junior right hander Joey Mohler (Jr., Calhoun, AL) who was looking to rebound from a tough loss at Montreat earlier in the week. King got to Mohler early in the contest, posting 3 runs in the 1^st inning and a run in the second to extend the lead to 4. Bryan answered with a run in the top of the 3^rd on an RBI double by Michael Kent (Sr., Lookout Mtn, GA)  , but the Tornado again answered, plating 2 runs in the bottom of the 4^th and one more in the 5^th to chase Mohler and extend their lead to 6, 7-1. Bryan plated a run in the 6^th and again in the 8^th on a solo homerun deep over the left field wall by Kent which cut the lead to 4. The Tornado managed 5 more runs in the 8^th to push the lead to 9 for good. King closer Brandon Wallace was perfect in the 9^th, striking out the side in order to finish off the 12-3 victory.

                Kent provided the lone bright spot for the Lions in the game, with the double and homerun, driving in 2 runs in the loss. Mohler’s final line was 7 runs, 6 of which were earned, on 8 hits over 4 innings of work. The right hander walked 2 and struck out 3 in the loss. In relief of Mohler, Daniel Zimmerman (So., Grandview, TN) worked 4 innings, allowing 5 runs, all earned, on 6 hits while walking two and striking out 5. Bryan didn’t help their cause by making 4 errors in the contest, while King did not commit any errors.

                Needing a win, the Lions sent lefty Daniel Bosarge (Jr., Rome, GA) to the mound to begin game two and the junior was dominant for 4 innings, quieting the Tornado bats and allowing just 1 hit in the early going. Tornado ace, Jace Smith matched Bosarge pitch for pitch as the Lions were held to just 1 hit through 4 innings as well. King posted a run in the bottom of the 4^th inning, and then exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the 5^th, forcing Bosarge from the game and taking the lead for good. Bryan managed 2 runs in the 6^th on the strength of a double by Will Newman (Jr., Dayton, TN) and a balk from Smith which plated the second run, but again it was Wallace who came on and retired the side in order, striking out two, closing out the Lions and capping the series sweep.

                Bryan got doubles from Newman, J.D. Davis (Fr., Atlanta, GA) and Jeremiah Peters (Sr., Sherwood, AR) in the game 2 loss, but was unable to string the hits together, eventually falling 8-2. Bosarge’s final line was 4 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits over 4 1/3 innings of work. The left hander’s performance was exactly what the Lions needed to put themselves in position to win, but the bats were silent as Smith kept the Bryan hitters at bay all afternoon. The loss drops the Lions to 11-17 while King moves to 17-6. Next up for Bryan is a single 9 inning game in Cleveland, TN against the nation’s second ranked team, the Lee University Flames who are currently 35-1 and riding a 31 game winning streak.