PEARL, Miss. (February 22, 2025) – The University of North Alabama baseball team split a doubleheader with Saint Louis on Saturday in Pearl, Miss. The Lions lost the first game 5-0 before returning with a dominant win in game two, 8-1.
North Alabama finishes the day with a 1-1 record in their first-ever meeting with the Billikens. The Lions are now 3-3 on the season.
Game 1 — Saint Louis 5, North Alabama 0
The runs in the opener came mostly in the first inning for the Billikens. A single from the lead-off batter and then a double from the next man up led to two guys on base to start the game. However, the St. Louis team capitalized on a cut-off throwing error to make it 1-0.
Another single to right field scored the man on second. A Brycen Parrish strikeout for the fourth batter led into a two-run blast from the Billikens right fielder made it 4-0 quick at the end of the first.
North Alabama found some movement in the bottom of the third with two outs on the board. Senior shortstop Leighton Jenkins provided a single to left field. Johnathan Lane moved him around with his own right field single. Left fielder Nash Rippen walked on the next at-bat to load the bases. Saint Louis starting pitcher Owen Kelly retired the final Lion of the inning to strand three.
The top of the sixth found a lead-off homer for the Billikens to make it 5-0.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Luke Davenport substituted for Parrish in the top of the seventh where he struck out two right away. He struck out one more in the top of the eighth before left-hander Gavin Oswald made his debut in the ninth.
The Lions recorded four hits in the game.
Pitchers of Record
W – Owen Kelly (1-0)
L – Brycen Parrish (0-2)
S – N/A
Game 2 — North Alabama 8, Saint Louis 1
The second game started a tad quieter as the first two innings saw no runs from either team. However, the Lions placed three on base with two outs before the sixth hole went down swinging.
Freshman left-hander Tripp Patterson made his second start of the season and in three innings found three strikeouts. As Patterson kept the Billikens silent, North Alabama found their bats for a bottom of the third eruption.
Redshirt sophomore Alex Wade opened up with a double that skated down the left field line. Next up, first baseman Petey Craska singled out to right field earning an RBI as Wade scored for a 1-0 lead.
Catcher Matthew Delgado singled up the middle to push Craska to second. Center fielder Alex Wilson hit a hard grounder to shortstop that he could not handle and everyone got to their bag safely. As the designated hitter Jayden Sloan was hit by the next pitch, he pushed Craska in for the next score.
Sophomore Bryant Loving sent another heater at shortstop to cause a second error which helped Delgado score, making it 3-0. Senior Leighton Jenkins decided to add two more with a line drive up the middle to notch him two RBIs. The Lions finished the inning 5-0, while Lane added a stolen base.
A quiet fourth and fifth inning for both teams led to a bang to start the sixth as Saint Louis homered at the first at-bat. Patterson went on to strikeout two of the next three to finish off his day. He finished off the day with seven strikeouts in 27 batters faced, only allowing the one run.
Dylan Morrill got the nod for the start of the seventh. He struck the top two Billikens out and got the last out from a fly ball to Rippen.
Bottom of the seventh saw two Lions on base by way of walk. Two outs on the board, Loving smoked a shot down the left field line that barely stayed fair scoring both Delgado and Wilson again. Loving advanced from second to third off of a wild pitch, while Leighton Jenkins stole second to have two in scoring position. The Billikens third pitcher of the day retired Lane for the final out of the seventh inning.
A fifth Billiken toed the mound for game two. Two walked Lions and a single from Wilson to left field led to an eighth score on the day from Wade.
Morrill saw three pinch hitters to begin the seventh and striking out the first while letting his defense finish off the other two.
The Lions did it all in this one with eight hits, eight runs, seven RBIs and two stolen bases. North Alabama is now 3-3 on the season heading into the final game of the series on Sunday.
Pitchers of Record
W – Tripp Patterson (2-0)
L – Ben Cherico (0-1)
S – None
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions and Billikens are scheduled for one more game tomorrow, beginning at 11 a.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
