LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Stillman College baseball team made the most out of the first day of a long road trip as the Tigers swept an HBCU Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Philander Smith Panthers 5-1 and 5-4 Saturday afternoon.
GAME ONE - Stillman 5, Philander Smith 1
The Tigers did most of the heavy lifting in the second inning. With the bases loaded,
Gavin Rehorn drew a walk for an RBI as
Samuel Fleming scored from third.
Kameran Belser followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in
Michael Moses. Titus Woods-Ayers scored on a wild pitch, and
Mekha Hicks wrapped the big inning with an RBI single up the middle to bring in Rehorn to push the lead to 4-0.
Sam Lucas helped the Panthers avoid the game one shut out with a solo homer to left field, which cut the lead to 4-1.
Stillman wrapped scoring in the sixth when
Troy Davis reached on a fielder's choice for an RBI and helped Belsar score from third to reach the 5-1 finale.
Sieas Elliots finished the contest 2-for-4 at the plate. Belsar collected a double, while Belser. Hicks, Davis, and Rehorn all collected RBIs. Rehorn stole two bases, with Fleming and Moses also earning swipes.
Grff Minor pitched another complete game and posted nine strikeouts while only allowing four hits, three walks and one earned run.
GAME TWO - Stillman 5, Philander Smith 4
Josh Wilson started the offense in the second inning with an RBI-single to centerfield to bring in Moses.
Robert Gage grounded out but got an RBI as
Michael Glover scored from third to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Stillman added a run in the fourth and fifth thanks to a solo home run by
Javian Rives in the fourth, and an RBI single up the middle for Wilson brought in Minor to put the Tigers ahead 4-0.
Zay Dyer trimmed the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a two-RBI single to left field to move the score to 4-2.
Kobe Lewis knocked in a run in the sixth with a single through the left side to bring in
Devin Kelly for an important fifth run for the Tigers.
In the seventh, Dyer both had an RBI and scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 5-4, but was as close as the Panthers got as Stillman collected a 5-4 victory.
Wilson led at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort with two RBIs. Troy Eastling posted an extra base hit with a double, and Rives blasted the home run. Kelly stole a pair of bases and Minor also got a steal.
John Roland Jr. (1-0) threw six innings with six strikeouts and allowed six hits, two walks and a pair of earned runs.
Caleb Schreiner picked up the save in an inning of relief as he struck out two batters with three walks, two earned runs and a hit allowed.
Stillman College returns to action tomorrow looking for a sweep over Philander Smith with game three scheduled for a noon start in Little Rock, Arkansas.
