LEESBURG, Fla. (Baseball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) baseball team opened their season with a single game against Florida Palms University (FPU) on Saturday afternoon. The Lakehawks won their home opener 7-3 over the Owls.
The Lakehawks got on the board immediately after a quick three-up-three-down first inning on defense.
Sophomore Dannon Smith led off with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball and was scored by sophomore Ryan Monaghan who blasted a triple to right field. Kendal Spencer came up with a deep sacrifice fly to left field to score Monaghan.
With two outs and the bases cleared, designated hitter Chris Palmi reached first with a single, Nate Tinder came up with a double, and Carson Russell drew a walk to load the bases. Luke Bentley hit a hard ball up the middle, Russell beating the throw to second to score one more run before making the third out.
In the bottom of the second, Monaghan singled to third base followed by Spencer with a single up the middle and Palmi drew a walk to load the bases for the Lakehawks once again. Sophomore Nate Tinder singled to right field to score Monaghan and Spencer giving the Lakehawks a five-run lead.
The Lakehawks came back in the fourth inning after allowing the Owls to score one in the top half of the inning. Auston Chisenhall led off with a double and Chris Palmi came up with a single to right field to score Chisenhall.
The Lakehawks finished the day with seven runs and six RBIs on 11 hits. Monaghan went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead the team.
Sophomore pitcher Jake Dorn threw four complete innings allowing no runs, fanning four, and allowed just one hit in the fourth. Freshman Max Windham picked up the win with two innings pitched with five strikeouts moving to 1-0 on the season.
Up next for the Lakehawks
The Lakehawks will be back in action at home on Monday, January 30 for a single game matchup against Santa Fe at 3:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for the game.
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