DUE WEST, S.C. - The Thomas Jefferson University baseball team got the 2022 season underway on Friday, dropping a pair of games to Erskine.
 
GAME ONE - L, 14-1
The Flying Fleet opened the scoring in the first inning, pushing an unearned run across on a wild pitch. The host team tacked on two runs in the second, one in the fourth and fifth frames, and four in the sixth to increase the advantage to nine.
 
Meanwhile, the Rams struggled to figure out the Erskine hurlers, tallying just two hits through the first seven innings. Jefferson finally broke through in the eighth, with Zack Austin coming through with a two-out RBI single to get the Rams on the board. However, the deficit was too much to erase and the Flying Fleet added five insurance runs in the bottom of the frame.
 
Quick Hits
Alex Gonzalez: 2-for-4, R, 2 SB
Zack Austin: 1-for-4, RBI
Ryan Sawyer: 1-for-4
 
GAME TWO - L, 7-4
Erskine got on the board in the first once again on a wild pitch. The Rams took their first lead of the day in the third on a three-run homer by Zack Austin. However, the Flying Fleet responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to regain control. Erskine upped its cushion with a two-run single in the fourth.
 
Jefferson closed the gap to two (6-4) in the fifth when Cole Kriger knocked in Austin with a two-out base hit up the middle. The Rams put the lead-off man aboard in the sixth but a double play squashed any Jefferson momentum. The Flying Fleet pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly then retired the Rams in order in the seventh to finish off the victory.
 
Quick Hits
Ryan Sawyer: 2-for-4
Zack Austin: 2-for-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Cole Kriger: 1-for-3, RBI
Dylan Rees: 2-for-2, 2B, BB
 
UP NEXT
The Rams and Flying Fleet finish their weekend set with two more games on Saturday, February 12 beginning at 11 a.m.