CLEVELAND, Tenn. – UWF baseball (24-10, 14-4 GSC) rallied late to take Game 1 vs. Lee University on a cold Saturday evening at Olympic Field. The Argos overcame a 3-1 deficit by scoring once in the seventh and three times in the eighth to down the Flames (20-17, 12-7 GSC) by a final of 5-3.
Difficult weather conditions presented problems for both teams. The game was delayed one hour due to rain that fell intermittently during the game, and temperatures dropped into the high thirties by the late innings.
"Good win tonight on the road," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "It was very tough weather conditions: wet, misty, cold. I think it affected both teams a little bit."
Tony Kucera got the start for the Argos and held the Lee offense in check most of the evening. The southpaw went six innings, scattering six hits and allowing three runs (two earned). He walked four and struck out four in what proved to be a no-decision.
"I thought Tony Kucera did a fine job for us," said Jeffcoat. "He pitched well. We didn't really defend behind him like we could have. He mixed some walks in there behind those errors that we didn't want, but he battled and gave us six tough innings."
Lee built a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly RBI by Spencer Mossburg. Flames starter Wes Albert blanked the UWF offense until the fifth, when Robert Lopez led off with a single and came into score on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Silverstein.
The Flames quickly reclaimed the lead, capitalizing for two runs on two hits and an error in the sixth to build a 3-1 advantage. Kucera left two aboard before exiting the game in favor of Avery Geyer.
Silverstein picked up his second RBI of the game in the seventh on a fielder's choice that once again scored Lopez.
The Argos then exploded for three runs, all with two outs, in the eighth. Joey Bend got the inning going with a double and scored on a double by Matt Sullivan to make it 3-3. An error by Lee shortstop Fernando Ortiz on a bouncer put in play by Lopez helped Sullivan score the go-ahead run. Matt Estrada provided insurance with an RBI single to score Lopez for a third time and make it 5-3.
Geyer (2-0) picked up his second straight win out of the bullpen by firing three scoreless innings in relief of Kucera. The senior allowed just two hits while striking out five and surrendering zero walks. He worked around a leadoff double in the seventh before retiring the Flames in order in the eighth and allowing nothing more than an infield single in the ninth. Eric Freeman (3-4) suffered the loss.
"Avery Geyer, I think, was the player of the game," said Jeffcoat. "He came in throwing bullets. He really shut the door down, especially in the eighth and ninth innings to really give them no life after we took that two-run lead."
The win was the 19th in the last 21 games for UWF. The team has now won five out of six conference series openers this season. The win was the second straight in which the Argos have erased a two-run deficit in either the eighth or the ninth.
"They seem to keep their composure well," Jeffcoat said of his roster. "We've built that in them. I feel proud of the way they respond to adversity. They continue to do that, and we hope we can continue to do that tomorrow and hopefully take a lead tomorrow and not have to play from behind."
UWF and Lee close the series with a doubleheader tomorrow that will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. CT. Dylan Mills-Derouen and Kirk Maddox are expected to start for the Argos.
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