Top-ranked Lee beats SWU twice

Friday, January 1, 1904

After losing Friday night to Southern Wesleyan, Lee University used a three-run fifth inning to beat the South Carolina team 3-2 in the first game of Saturday's Southern States Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader and then erupted for an 11-1 victory more befitting of the NAIA's No. 1-ranked team. Brandon Rader had half of the Flames' hits in game one Saturday by going 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run, and Jose Samayoa raised his pitching record to 9-1 with Andy Hillis recording his sixth save of the season. In the finale, Derrick Pitts was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Josh Silver was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for Lee (36-9, 20-4), while Corey Davis and Roberto Duran each scored twice and Keegan Yuhl (3-0) and Alex Moore combined on a six-hitter.

• Bryan College won 5-1 and lost 8-6 against St. Andrews in Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball Saturday in Dayton. Tristan Speak scattered seven hits and struck out six batters in the opener for the Lions (24-20, 7-11), when Josh Harris, Kevin Layne and Cody Rhinehart each was 2-for-3 and Harris scored twice. Chris Jeffries was 2-for-4 with a grand slam in game two, when Bryan scored all six runs in the fifth inning. Harris was 2-for-2.

• Sewanee got its first two Southern Athletic Association baseball wins of the season Saturday, 6-4 and 7-2 against visiting Oglethorpe. Allen Thigpen was 3-for-4, Jack Rogers drove in three runs and Michael Walker and Jack Whaley each was 2-for-4 and involved in two runs in the first game for the Tigers (10-19, 2-14), and James Snover, Blake Williams, Walker, Colin Barrera, Rogers and Grant Goodson had second-game RBIs in support of pitcher Jacob Simpson's five-hitter.

• Huntingdon College won 4-3 and 10-4 over Covenant College in NCAA Division III baseball Saturday on Lookout Mountain, as Joseph Odom went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the first game and homered and drove in four runs for the Hawks (23-9) in the series finale. Will Cleland was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Sterling Witt was 2-for-3 and scored once in the first game for Covenant (22-10). David Lockwood was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Cleland and Scott Gillespie had the other two for the Scots in the 10-4 loss.

• With Taylor Patterson from Murray County pitching a five-hitter, Walters State beat Cleveland State 8-1 in the first game of their weekend TCCAA baseball series Friday.

Tennis

• The UTC tennis teams both won Saturday matches that left them 6-4 in the Southern Conference with the league tournament this week at Elon. The Lady Mocs' 4-3 home win over Samford finished their regular season at 17-4 overall, their most wins since 1999; UTC swept the doubles matches and went ahead 3-0 with Jenna Nurik and Kayla Jones winning at Nos. 1 and 3 singles, but it was 3-2 when Claire Mulyadi's three-set win at No. 6 singles clinched the team victory. The UTC men's team romped 6-1 at Georgia Southern, clinching at 11-8 a winning season, with singles wins by Manuel Barroetavena, Ankit Chopra, Chris Smith, Jackson Tresnan and Gino Delavalle.

Track & Field

• Former Notre Dame High School and King College runner Danielle Alfano won the 1500-meter showcase race Saturday in the Sea Ray Relays at the University of Tennessee. Running unattached, she beat a field from across the nation with a time of 4 minutes, 28 seconds.

Softball

• Ringgold senior softball players Lacey Loy and Brittany Portwood signed enrollment papers to continue their careers at West Georgia Tech. Each was a four-year letterman for coach Rachel Hodge's Lady Tigers, who placed in the state's top five in each of the last three seasons. "They both played key roles in our trips to Columbus, and I believe each will do well in college," Hodge said. Loy was a three-year starter in the outfield, while Portwood was the team's top pitcher the past two seasons.

• UTC softball coach Frank Reed will be the guest speaker for the Chattanooga Quarterback Club's noon luncheon meeting Monday at Finley Stadium, and the public is invited. Attendance costs $10 with a meal, $4 without.

Lacrosse

• Michael Morris scored three goals and Pierce Leonard, Davis Brown, Reed Daniel and Drew Lincoln added two apiece -- Leonard with three assists -- as Sewanee won 13-4 in men's lacrosse Friday at Rhodes. The Tigers are 10-3.

• With Mallory Grimm scoring seven goals, including the first three of the match, the Sewanee women's lacrosse team finished spotless SAA play Saturday with a 20-16 win at Birmingham-Southern. Grimm also had an assist, and Molly Arnold had four goals and an assist while Ellie Murphy and Olivia Vietor added three goals each with three and two assists. Wittney Reed also had three assists for the Tigers (10-6, 5-0), and Sally Anne Greenwood had seven ground balls while Sammy Strasburger made 11 saves.