Jackson, TN – The Lambuth Eagles baseball team controlled their own destiny this past weekend. If the Eagles beat Trevecca Nazarene University in one of the three games they locked second place in the TranSouth Conference. The task was going to be hard as Trevecca came in with a #16 ranking in the nation and had first place in the conference wrapped up and had only been beat twice in the conference all year.
Lambuth came out flying in the first game putting up three runs in the first inning highlighted by a Bryan Willsey two-run home run. Tony Perez started on the mound for the Eagles and held the Trojan offense in check until the third inning when he let the three run lead vanish. After three innings the score was knotted at three. In the top of the fourth the Eagle offense broke out of a shell. Lambuth sent eleven hitters to the plate scoring eight runs. The inning started with a Willsey double and ended with a Willsey grand slam. In between Lambuth had two hits, but took advantage of two walks and two hit by pitches. Perez would allow one more run in the fifth making the score 11-4 Lambuth. Trevecca would rally in the seventh as the Eagles used three pitchers in the inning before Matt Riley came in and struck out the final hitter of the game. The Eagles hung on to claim a 11-9 victory.
Perez improved his record to 8-3 and Willsey, who went 3-3 with two home runs and six RBI's, led the offense. Matt Bird also had a solid day at the plate going 2-3.
Day two was the same type of day for the offense, but the Eagle pitching staff did not show up at all. The first game saw Trevecca jump out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Lambuth starter Kory Bates was chased after the third inning and none of the three other pitchers Lambuth used in the first game could figure how to slow the Trojan offense. With a Trevecca 7-2 lead in the fifth inning the Eagles cut the deficit to 7-5 on a Ryan Hanson three-run home run. That would be all the closer the Eagles would get as Trevecca won game two 12-5.
The rubber match of the three game series was very exciting if you are an offensive minded person. The game was filled with a lot of home runs, doubles, triples and not a lot of good pitching. Trevecca started things off with a two-run home run and then added another run to make the score 3-0 after the top of the first. In the bottom half Ryan Concannon added a two-run home run of his own and Bryan Willsey scored on a Henry Sanchez single to tie the game at three. The Trojans scored three more in the second on two home runs only to be answered back in the bottom half of the inning as Lambuth scored three runs on a Mike Davis three-run home run. Trevecca put some hits together in the third after a leadoff home run and put four runs on the board in the third. Lambuth answered back and added an extra run to take their first lead of the day at 11-10. In the fourth TNU put three runs on the board to take a 13-11 lead, but Lambuth scored two in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game again at thirteen. There was a ton of offense in the first four innings of the game. Things quieted down in the later innings as Trevecca added a run in the fifth, as did Lambuth to tie the game at 14 after five innings. The Trojans would score again in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and the Eagle offense was shut down for the first time in the game in the bottom half. Matt Riley shut down the Trojans in the top of the seventh and Mike Davis led of the inning with a base hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch with no outs in the inning. Davis would be stranded and the Eagles would lose their last regular season game 15-14. It was a very hard fought battle against one of the better teams in the nation.
With the win the Eagles locked the #2 seed for the TranSouth Conference tournament that starts on Monday, April 28th. The Eagles will play the 4:00 game against Lyon College. In the regular season Lambuth beat Lyon 6-4 in the only match up the two teams had. The other two games were rained out. The TranSouth tournament will be held at USA baseball stadium in Millington, TN.
With Lambuth finishing as the second place team in the TranSouth regular season, the Eagles receive an automatic bid to the Regional Tournament. The Regional Tournament will begin May 6th in Lebanon, TN at Cumberland University.
Lambuth will be making its first trip to the conference tournament since joining the TranSouth Conference. The Eagles will also be making their first trip to the regional tournament since 2002. Lambuth finished the regular season with 29-20 record, 15-8 in the TranSouth conference. This marks the first winning season in the past three years for baseball at Lambuth. The team is making great strides and we hope that all of you can be a part of our success. Hope to see you all at the ballpark!!
| Lambuth at | 2:00pm |
| Rhodes College | CST |
| Pre-season game (NCAA DIII) | |
