Credit: @saintleobase
No. 18 ranked Saint Leo men’s baseball took the early 1-0 lead in the series against Barry University. Already 10-2 the Lions grabbed another win to jump to a record of 11-2 with a 9-7 victory over the Buccaneers. Barry jumped to an early one-run lead with a line drive to right field that drove in the runner from third. However, it didn’t take the already hot Lions long to take the lead back, grabbing three runs in the second inning. Then runs were supplied by back-to-back-to-back doubles by junior infielder Jared Morello, redshirt senior outfielder Chase Turner, and senior outfielder Tate Sweatt. These hits gave the Lions a 2-1 lead while a passed ball led to the third run coming home. Three more Lions’ runs followed a scoreless third inning. Turner again coming up big for the Lions started the inning off right with another double. Following Turner, senior infielder Zach Scott also doubled bringing Turner home while Sweatt also doubled again bringing Scott home. Finally, sophomore outfielder Amir Wright hit a shot to right center to bring Sweatt home for the final run. By the end of the fourth inning, the Lions were ahead of the Buccaneers 6-1. The following inning, Saint Leo tacked on one more run to give themselves a 7-1 lead.
As the game was coming to an end, it seemed like the Lions would run away with the easy victory. However, the Buccaneers would not quit as they almost completed a comeback putting up five runs in the last inning, making the final score 9-7 Lions.
Scott, Turner and Sweatt combined for an incredible six for 12 batting average. Their .500 average, along with a combined four RBI’s were one of the key factors that helped propel the Lions to a close victory. Batting was not the only impressive performance about the game; it was the early pitching of senior Jordan Pendleton that kept the Buccaneers at bay. His impressive one ERA combined with a seven-strikeout performance were also a big help for the Lions. The next series doubleheader will be March 6 against Tiffin.
