No. 5 Flames Take Down Rams At SSAC Tourney

COLUMBUS, Ga-- The 5th-ranked Lee University Flames topped the University of Mobile 11-6 Thursday in the opening round of the 2012 SSAC Baseball Tournament.

Mobile (25-24) will play an elimination game Friday at 1 pm EST against the loser of the William Carey v. AUM game.

Lee jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first three innings, and it was too much for the Rams to overcome. Mobile tried to rally with six runs over the final four innings, but fell short.

Patrick Merkling picked up the win for Faulkner after limiting the Rams to one earned run on six hits in 6 innings of work. He fanned six and walked a pair. Michael King took the loss for the Rams after giving up six earned runs on five hits in 2 innings of work.

Trevor Burgess went 2-for-4 with four RBI for Lee, Blake Barber finished 2-for-5 with three RBI, Brady Renner went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and Jorge Saez had three hits and three RBI.

Ryne Phillips paced the Rams by going 3-for-5 with two RBI and Cameron White finished 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

Burgess hit a 2-run homer in the 2nd to put the Flames up 3-0, and Lee added four more in the 3rd thanks to a Saez homer and a 2-run double from Burgess.

The Rams' late rally could have been much more. The team scored one in the 6th on a bases loaded walk from White, but left the bases loaded. The same thing happened in the 7th, with Ryan Parazine forcing home John Soutullo, but again the bases were left loaded.

Mobile finally got the crooked number on the board in the 8th with Phillips doubling home a pair to cap a three-run inning, but after scoring one in the 9th, the team left the bases loaded.