CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Lewis' baseball team opened its 2020 campaign by splitting a doubleheader at Lee University's Olympic Field in Cleveland, Tenn., on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers dropped the opener 10-0 and then rallied to win the nightcap 9-3.

"I'm proud of the way we fought back in game two today," Lewis head baseball coach Tim McDonough said. "We put together some competitive at-bats and accepted walks. I thought Austin Tittle (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) had two great at-bats in game two which turned the momentum on our side.

"Brad (Littleton) and Ben (Davis) both gave us good starts and Jake Lotz (Palos Hills, Ill./St. Laurence) was outstanding in relief," McDonough said.

Game 1 Lee 10 Lewis 0
The Flames (7-5) jumped out to an early lead in the opener with a run in the third inning on a two out single back up the middle off the bat of Alan Smith.

Lewis (1-1) threatened in the fourth with a one out walk to Anthony Cavalieri (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) and a single through the left side of the infield from Ryan Schefske (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East). The rally fizzled out with an inning ending double play.

Lee scored three unearned runs in the sixth, added three more runs in the seventh and scored three more unearned runs in the eight to extend its lead.

The Flyers were held to three hits in the opener and were led by Schefske with two. Littleton got the start and allowed a run on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in four innings of work to take the loss.

Game 2 Lewis 9 Lee 3
Lewis gave up two runs in the first inning of game two but came right back to score a run in the second inning to cut the Flames lead in half. Tittle got the Flyers on the board with a home run to right for his first dinger of the season.
Lee got that run back in the third on Smith's double to left to drive in Luke Hughes.

Lewis tied the score in the fourth with two runs on two hits. Tittle drove in Cavalieri with an infield single to short and later in the inning Angelo Cantelo (Blue Island, Ill./Marian Catholic) drove in Anthony Rios (Lemont, Ill./St. Laurence) with the tying run on a fielders' choice.

The Flyers took the lead with three runs in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Two straight walks and an error on the catcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt loaded the bases with no one out. Back-to-back walks to Cavalieri and Schefske brought home Julian Everett (Frankfort, Ill/Lincoln Way East) and Chris Zeschke (Oak Lawn, Ill./Richards) to put Lewis in front 5-3. Rios drove home Joe Preusser (Orland Park, Ill./Brother Rice) with the third run of the inning hitting a sacrifice fly to left.

The Flyers tacked on three runs on two hits and capitalized on two Flame errors to extend its lead to 8-3. Zeschke and Cavalieri had RBI singles in the single and Rios drove in a run with a bases loaded walk.

Lewis had six hits in the nightcap but drew eight walks. Cavalieri and Tittle had two hits apiece while Zeschke and Julian Everett (Frankfort, Ill/Lincoln Way East) had a hit apiece. Six Flyers had at least one RBI in the contest. Davis got the start and picked up the win allowing three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in four innings of work. Lotz pitched the final three innings allowing no runs on one hit while punching out four to earn the save.

Lewis and Lee conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Olympic Field beginning at 12 p.m. (CST).