CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Trevecca Nazarene University baseball team (8-12) lost a marathon game, 9-8, at Lee University (16-12) on Tuesday night at Olympic Field.

The game, which is the last non-conference game prior to the Trojans opening Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) on Friday, lasted five hours and seven minutes. The Flames hold a 11-23 edge in the series since 2001 and have won the last five in the series. TNU last won in 2011.

Trevecca opens G-MAC play on Friday with a double-header at Cedarville University (3-10) and then play the Yellow Jackets in a Saturday double header.

The Trojans looked like they had broken through with the winning run in the top of the 14th inning for an 8-7 lead. Lee denied the Trojans momentum headed into G-MAC play with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 14th inning to take an 9-8 victory. 

Trevecca scored two in the first and repeated the feat in the second for a 4-0 lead.

The Flames scored three of their own in the second inning and then tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the third.

Lee took a 7-4 lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Trojans held the Flames scoreless for the next nine innings

Trevecca scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings to tie the game at 7-7 and forcing extra innings.  

Zach Tompkins (SR/Mt. Juliet, TN) walked to lead off the 14th and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored what looked like the winning run on a double by Chad Sutton (SO/Independence, MO).

The Flames got some help when Brayden Ware reached on a Trojan error. Kyle Briner followed walked before the Trojans added two more errors on a grounder off the bat of Ben Holland. Ware scored to tie the game at 8-8. Luke Toms hit the game-deciding line drive scoring Briner.

The game was even in so many ways, including each team collecting 13 hits.

Tyler Tichenor (SR/Centertown, KY) stirred things for the Trojans with a 4-6 night at the plate and added two runs, and RBI, a walk, and had three stolen bases. Tichenor reached base in five of his seven plate appearances.

Four Treveccans, - Ethan Harrison (FR/Erlanger, KY), Chad Sutton, Ryan Arington (JR/Cincinnati, OH) and Carter Wiseman (SO/Hendersonville, TN) – reached with a double. Harrison, Arington, and Tompkins all had two hits in the game. Tomkins and Wiseman reached on a hit-by-pitch as well. Arington had a sac hit and stole a base.

The Achilles heal though was the seven errors credited to the Trojans, three in the 14th inning.

Trevecca reliever Christian Lohr (SO/Verona, KY) carried the load late into the game and into extra innings with five innings of shutout baseball. Lohr surrendered just one hit, struck out three and walked two. Mason Dunn (SR/Goodlettsville, TN) pitched the final 2.1 innings and took the loss (0-2).