Sac fly lifts Saints

Published 12:02 am Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Saints first baseman Ryan Barnes (15) catches a force out Friday afternoon at Crum Foshee Field in Andalusia. LBWCC beat Chipola College 5-2 to win its season opener. | Andrew Garner/Star-News

LBWCC’s Brandon Pugh hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to score the winning run of the Saints’ 6-5 doubleheader victory over Bishop State at Saturday’s T.J. Fleming Invitational in Andalusia.

The Saints got off to a great start in their first game over BSCC in a 10-0 win in eight innings.

In its season-opener, LBWCC scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie in a 5-2 victory over Chipola College on Friday.

“We’re excited, from a coaches stand point, about our competitive nature,” Saints head baseball coach Steve Helms said. “For our first time out, I saw some good things and a lot of things we need to work on. The kids competed at a very high level.”

LBWCC 6, Bishop State 5

Pugh finished the game 0-for-3 for the Saints in the win.

LBWCC built a 3-0 lead after the first inning of play. BSCC answered in the top of the third inning with three runs to tie the game at 3-all.

The Saints scored one run each in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-3 advantage.

BSCC scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning, and LBWCC was held scoreless in the bottom half of the final two frames to push the game into extra innings.

LBWCC scored six of its runs on 11 hits and tallied three errors on the field.

“We didn’t play very well, but found a way to win,” Helms said.

Trey Chambers went 3-for-5 with one run to lead the Saints at the plate. Ryan Barnes was 2-for-3 with one run; and Conner Smith went 2-for-4 with two runs.

Other than Pugh, Charlie Spencer, who went 1-for-4; and Johnnie Eaton, who went 1-for-3, hit in one run each.

Trevor Maxey was 1-for-3 with one run to pace the Saints.

LBWCC 10,Bishop State 0

Thomas Dorminy and Alex Stevens combined for a no-hitter in leading the Saints to victory in the doubleheader opener.

Dorminy struck out eight and walked two in four innings, while Stevens added two strike outs, one walk and two innings of work.

“They pitched well and we took advantage of the opportunities they gave us on offense,” Helms said.

LBWCC’s Brandon Mayhann went 1-for-3 with four RBIs; Chambers went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs; Barnes went 1-for-3 with two RBIs; Dusty Jones and Maxey had one RBI each; Pugh scored three runs; and Kelante Buskey scored two runs in the effort.

The Saints scored one run each in the second and fourth inning, added three runs in the fifth and topped the game with five runs in the sixth.

LBWCC 5, Chipola College 2

Clark Gray struck out five and allowed no runs on two hits in three innings to get the win for the Saints on a chilly Friday night.

LBWCC scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but Chipola quickly answered in the second with two runs to tie the game at 2-all.

The game was scoreless for the next two innings.

LBWCC added three runs in the bottom of the fifth and held Chipola late for the win in the eight-hit affair.

Barnes, Pugh and Chambers tallied two hits each for the Saints. Barnes added three RBIs. Spencer had one RBI.

Ben Pettus allowed two runs on one hit while striking out six in 3.1 innings for LBWCC.

“We played a very good Chipola team,” Helms said. “We played with a lot of emotion and made all of the plays we had to.

“We were blessed to get the win,” he said. “I thought we played extremely well for our first time.”

The Saints will be back in action on Saturday at Crum Foshee Field in Andalusia against No. 15 Wabash Valley at 11:30 a.m., and Andrew College at 4:30 p.m.