The Lakers (7-12) traveled to Georgia over the weekend to play the Shorter University (JV) Hawks. The team took two of three against the Hawks. In game one, Freshman Eli Brown pitched six innings allowing two earned runs and four hits while striking out four in earning the 11-3 victory. Levi Jones got the Lakers going by hitting a double and picking up two RBI's in the first inning. He would also add two sacrifice flies later in the game to finish with four RBI's total. Later in the first, sophomore Glavine Harpe would add an RBI single. The Lakers would score four more in the second inning as Harpe added another RBI single and Mitchell Dragon roped a double to plate two more Lakers. Dillon Rohm added two hits in the game as he hit a single and a triple.
The tide turned in the second game of the day as the Hawks won 6-0. Shorter scored lone runs in the first and second innings. They also plated two runs in the third and sixth innings. The Lakers defense let them down as they had three errors in the game. Glavine Harpe (1B, 2B) provided the only offense for the Lakers as he had both of their hits. Ben Coffman was the hard luck loser in this game. He pitched a complete game and allowed six runs (three earned), walking none, and striking out seven.
In the rubber match, the Lakers would ride the arm of Andrew Miller for a 5-4 victory. Miller threw 7.1 innings of no hit ball before running into trouble. On the day, he would allow 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits while striking out six for the victory. In the troublesome eighth, Miller would walk a batter and allow three consecutive hits before David Kalinowski would come on and retire the two batters he faced to get the Lakers out of the jam. Levi Jones then pitched a perfect ninth to pick up the save. The Lakers would score in the first inning on consecutive singles by Garrett Sierra and Spencer Schultz. In the second, Cody Pittenger doubled and later scored on a fielder's choice by Alex Medina. Dillon Rohm hit a home run in the fifth to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead. The Lakers final runs were scored in the sixth and were keyed by a Schultz RBI double.
The Lakers are scheduled to travel to Rochester, NY and play Monroe CC in a doubleheader on Tuesday (4/4) at 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday (4/7-4/8), the Lakers will begin league play as they travel to Springfield, Ohio to take on the Clark State Eagles. Game time on both days is at 1 p.m. The Lakers home opening weekend is scheduled for Friday and Saturday (4/14-4/15). Game time Friday is at 2 p.m. and at noon Saturday.