No. 24 Lakehawk Baseball Takes Series Against FSCJ

LEESBURG, Fla. (Baseball) – Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) baseball opened the back half of regular season Sun-Lakes Conference play with Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSC). The Lakehawks took two to win the series, now 5-1 over the Manta Rays for the season.

Game One – FSCJ 15, Lake-Sumter 14

A back-and-forth high scoring game one did not result in the Lakehawks' favor.

Trailing 3-0 after the first inning, the Lakehawks came back in the top of the second with a big six-run inning. Lake-Sumter tacked on two more in the third for an 8-3 lead before the Manta Rays' eight-run third inning taking their lead back.

The Lakehawks and Manta Rays each put four more runs on the board for the remainder of the game, the Lakehawks unable to come back and find a win for game one. FSCJ recorded just their third win in conference play.

Ean Gimson went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk. Eli Thurmond, Brady Byers, Andrew Merchant, and Matthew Dumas each recorded two RBIs.

Max Windham recorded the loss on the mound with two innings pitched to move to 4-3 on the season. He allowed nine runs on seven hits and two walks.

Ethon Tesmer and Riley Fitzgerald took the mound in relief. The pair allowed six runs.

Christian Montes pitched 3.0 shutout innings with four strikeouts to close out the game.  

Game Two – Lake-Sumter 8, FSCJ 5

Back at The Hawks Nest for Saturday's double header, the Lakehawks took the lead right away after a leadoff homerun from Thurmond in the bottom of the first.

A double from Matthew Dumas down the first baseline put him in scoring position for a groundball up the middle from Byers to score.

Ryan Villaman and Merchant led off the second inning with a pair of walks. Base hits from Gimson and Dumas scored two more extending the Lakehawk lead 4-0.

The Manta Rays added two runs in the third and then tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth.

Merchant and Gimson led off the sixth with hits before Thumond was intentionally walked to load the bases. A double from Dumas scored Merchant and Gimson.

Byers loaded the bases once again for the Lakehawks after drawing a walk. A single up the middle from Tad Brooks allowed Dumas and Thurmond to score giving the Lakehawks an 8-4 lead.

The Manta Rays added one more run in the seventh but were unable to overcome the Lakehawk lead.

Dumas went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk. Edwin Melendez, Gimson, and Thurmond recorded two hits each.

Jack Johnson pitched five innings to record the no-decision for game two. He allowed two runs on two hits with six strikeouts.

Elliot Sande took the mound in the sixth to record the win improving to 4-1 on the season. He allowed just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Game Three – Lake-Sumter 14, FSCJ 11

Game three was a come-from-behind win for the Lakehawks to secure the series over the Manta Rays.

Trailing 6-1 after three innings, a single from Gimson with two on base in the bottom of the fourth scored two. Then, three FSCJ errors allowed two more runs to score bringing the Lakehawks within one run of the lead.

Lake-Sumter put two runs on the board in the sixth by capitalizing on more Manta Ray mistakes.

In the bottom of the seventh, Merchant led off the inning with a single before a triple from Dumas scored him from second. Dumas scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch.

The Lakehawks put five more runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth to solidify their lead going into the ninth inning. In their last-chance at bat, the Manta Rays put four runs up but the Lakehawk lead proved too much to overcome.

Ricky O'Dette recorded his first win on the mound of the season with 5.1 innings pitched. He allowed just three runs, one earned, on two hits with two strikeouts.

Dumas went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and one walk. Gimson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs.

With a pair of wins over the Manta Rays, the Lakehawks improve to 10-8 in Sun-Lakes Conference play. Lake-Sumter now ties for second in conference standing with No. 11 South Florida State College.

The Lakehawks will be back in action in non-conference action on Tuesday against the College of Central Florida at 2:00 p.m.

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