DII/SIAC/Baseball
Stillman Sports Information
FLORENCE, Ala. – It took to the sixth game of the season, but the Stillman College Tigers defeated North Alabama on the diamond t earn the first victory of 2015. After losing both games of the Saturday doubleheader, 6-5 and 15-3, the Tigers knocked off the Lions on Sunday, 16-4.
Game one on Saturday saw Stillman outhit North Alabama, 14-9, but four errors cost the team in the 6-5 loss. Stillman held onto a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth when the Lions rallied for three runs on three hits, including two of the four Tiger errors, to score the walk-off win in the opener.
Nick Vitale scored the opening run of the game in the top of the first inning Taylor Ellis reached on a fielder’s choice to pick up the RBI. UNA added a run each in the next two innings before Vitale scored his second run of the game in the third inning. Stillman added another run as Fernando Tanaka scored on a fielding error on the Lion catcher. UNA added a run in the bottom of the eight before Stillman score two in the ninth to take the lead with Lucas Bigler scoring ahead of the third run of the game for Vitale. Tyler Stewart got the start on the mound and lasted 7.0 innings giving up four hits and two runs – only one earned – before turning over to the bullpen. Stewart struck out seven batters and walked just one in the game. Vitale went 5-for-5 from the leadoff position and Paul Winterbottom went 3-for-5 in the game.
Game two saw North Alabama outplay Stillman as the Tigers committed four errors in the second game, losing 15-3. Vitale led off the game with a double and came around to score on the double by Winterbottom for the short lead. After two runs in the first and one in the second, the Lions scored 10 runs in the third inning on six hits and two Tiger errors. The Lions added a pair in the fourth to cap their scoring before Stillman added two runs in the sixth inning. Kenneth Perkey picked up the RBI single with Drew Burdsell scoring and Albert Rafael adding the RBI ground out to short stop to plate Adam Quinones. Four Tiger pitches appeared in the game, with the first three all allowing runs. Mitch Peterson ended the game by tossing the final 2.0 innings, striking out a pair and allowing just one hit.
Sunday had a new energy as Stillman (1-5) scored most of the runs late in the game over North Alabama (4-1) to hand the Lions the fist loss of the season, 16-4. Vitale made it a clean sweep by scoring in the first inning of all three contests, this time on a Tanaka RBI single. By the time the Tigers batted in the fourth inning, Stillman trailed 3-1. The Tigers scored twice as David Jervis drove in Rafael and Burdsell doubled to score Jervis to take the lead. North Alabama took a brief lead with one run in the fourth before Stillman scored five times in the fifth inning and eight runs in the seventh inning. Jervis connected on first home run in the big firth inning for a pair of RBI as E.J. Perry was standing on second after a double that scored Rafael and Ellis. Stillman maneuvered runners around the bases in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach with eight runs on seven hits in the frame. J.J. Marcos got the win in relief of Dakota Todd by throwing 3.1 inning and allowing four hits and striking out two with no runners scoring. Tim Rogers completed the game, throwing the final 2.0 innings. Jervis went 5-for-6 at the plate with three runs and six RBI, while Tanaka and Rafael each had four hits.
Stillman will be at home this week, with West Georgia visiting for one game on Tuesday and Catawba playing the three-game weekend series.