Last weekend, the Lion baseball team met their match in the series against Sacred Heart in a tug-of-war, making the outcome unpredictable until the end. The Lions ultimately came out on top, winning two of three series games.
The series games were held March 7-9 at the Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. The Lions started off slow in the series, with the first game ending in a 0-2 loss, however the Lions stepped up to the plate in the following game by coming out on top.
The final series game was intense with the two teams tied for the majority of the game. Sacred Heart scored the first run of the game in the first inning and the Lions were not able to match them until the sixth. It was in the final inning that pinch hitter Webb Bobo struck the ball to center field, allowing pinch runner Kennon Menard to make the winning run.
“It was [a game] where we couldn’t ask for a better situation,” said Head Coach Matt Riser. “We’ve had some tight ball games late all year, and we’ve been on the wrong end of it, so I couldn’t ask for a better situation for the guys. We did a great job of pitching. Kyle Keller, six innings, gave us a great performance again. In the starting roll, Dylan Hills came in and just shut the door for us. The guys just found a way to grind it out. We got the tie there in the sixth inning and got the chance to win there in the bottom ninth.”
Though it was Bobo’s first time playing in this series, he was a key player in achieving the final run to win the series. However, he had a humble attitude regarding the series outcome, attributing the success mainly to the pitching staff.
“We started off a little slow today, but our pitching staff did a phenomenal job,” said Bobo. “We just found a way to get it done at the end. I cannot in any way just credit myself. The pitching staff and everybody that played today [contributed] total team effort.”
Riser praised the team for their strengths and expressed optimism for future games.
“This is a quality team,” said Riser. “They’re going to win a lot of ball games over at Northeast Conference. They’ve got some quality arms in pitching and they play defense. That’s kind of our ammo as well. We know it’s going to be a tough weekend, very similar to the Southland weekend, as far as opponent-wise. They’re gritty, they’re tough and we just found a way to come out on top.”
The Lions will return to the plate against Ole Miss on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Pat Kenelly Diamond, Alumni Field. For the full schedule, go to lionsports.net.