SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo baseball team scored two runs in the top of the ninth to pull out a 7-6 victory over the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish in the two teams' Sunshine State Conference series opener. Four Lions finished with two or more hits in the victory while redshirt juniors Adrien Roa and Paul Coumoulos each drove in a pair of runs none bigger than the two by Coumoulos in the top of the ninth.
 
The Lions improved to 2-2 on the year and 1-1 in SSC play while the Sailfish fell to 0-7 overall and 0-7 in league action.
 
Senior Owen Jansen went 2-for-3 at the dish with a triple, a run scored, an RBI and a walk. Redshirt senior Danny Torres was 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored, a double and an RBI. Coumoulos went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI while Roa was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
 
Graduate student Joey Antonopoulos earned the start and went 1.1 innings with a strikeout and three walks. He allowed a pair of hits but held the Sailfish scoreless. Redshirt sophomore Jared Beck pitched the next 2.2 innings with four strikeout and three walks allowed. He allowed four hits and four runs to score. Redshirt senior Jeremy Peel took over for the next 3.0 innings and struck out four while not allowing a walk. He allowed six hits and two runners to cross the plate. Redshirt junior Devin Blair came on in the eighth and held the Sailfish to one hit while striking out two. Blair earned the win while senior McCabe Sargent pitched the bottom of the ninth while not allowing a baserunner to earn a save.
 
The Lions scored first in the first as Roa drove in redshirt junior PJ Barry on a sacrifice fly. The Sailfish tied the game with a run in the third and then took a 2-1 lead with a run in the fourth. The Lions responded with three runs in the fifth to retake a 4-2 lead. Barry, Torres and Roa all drove in runs in the inning. The Sailfish immediately answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. A triple, turned attempted inside the park home run, by Jansen scored Coumoulos in the sixth to give the Lions a 5-4 lead. Two runs by the Sailfish in the seventh led to the Lions being down to their final three outs in the top of the ninth trailing 6-5.
 
The Lions led off the inning with a walk but a failed sacrifice left the Lions with a man on first and one out. Torres singled to centerfield to make it runners on first and second before a strikeout brought the Lions down to their final out. Following a pitching change Mike Wyman drew a walk to load the bases for Coumoulos who laced a single to right field scoring both Torres and Barry. The inning would end on the next at bat as Sargent came on to shutdown the Sailfish in the ninth.
 
The Lions will close out their SSC series with the Sailfish Saturday afternoon at home with a 2:00 PM doubleheader.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo baseball team be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
 
Keeping Our Lions Healthy & Safe
Saint Leo University Athletics is keeping our student-athletes healthy and safe by following a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes having student-athletes tested or screened on a regular basis, traveling in smaller groups, holding competitions without fans in attendance, avoiding overnight trips, and wearing masks when not competing. These safety standards meet those set by the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference President's Council. At Saint Leo University, the COVID-19 Incident Command Team also reviews the teams' safety protocol and monitors adherence on a regular basis.