CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Top-seeded Lee University got off to a good start Tuesday night in the NAIA Opening Round baseball series it is hosting at Olympic Field. The Flames beat William Jewell 12-1 and will face second-seeded South Carolina-Beaufort in the winners-bracket final at 3:30 p.m. today.
USC-Beaufort edged Taylor from Indiana 8-7 in 10 innings after William Jewell, from Missouri, clipped Mount Vernon (Ohio) Nazarene 10-9 in the event’s first game. Taylor and Mount Vernon meet in an elimination game at noon today.
Lee senior Tanner Moore, a former McCallie School standout, went 4-for-5 and tied a Flames single-season record with his 21st home run of the year. He also doubled twice, and he drove in three runs and scored three to increase those season totals to 70 and 78.
Junior Rodriguez, who bats right behind Moore in the third spot, was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIS, and JJ Costantino and Trey Burstrom each scored two runs for the Flames (47-11), ranked fourth in the nation.
William Jewell (39-14) got only two hits off Matthew Gilson (10-0), who struck out 10 batters in eight innings. Kris Dockery allowed two in the ninth.