FLORENCE – The University of North Alabama baseball team christened the new Mike D. Lane Field with a series win over Bellarmine this weekend.
After dropping the opener 15-5, the Lions roared back to claim the conference series, the first at “The Mike,” which is phase one of the Bank Independent Stadium project.
UNA secured the first win at the newly opened field with a 4-2 win Friday. Freshman Tripp Patterson went the distance for the win and senior Jonathan Lane earned his 200th career hit — the first player in UNA’s Division I history to do so.
“Great response by our team after a tough game one of the series,” UNA head coach Jad Prachniak said. “We enjoyed getting a chance to play on campus at the brand new Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium, such a great ballpark to call home. Winning this series took contributions from a bunch of guys on the team.
“Jonathan Lane getting his 200th career hit this weekend was special. He has been so consistent throughout his career and it was great to see him hit that milestone in Florence.”
Lane joins UNA Hall of Famers James Barksdale, Douglas Hargett, and Josh Willingham, as well as 2018 graduate Kyle Hubbach, as the fifth player at UNA to record 200 career hits all-time. He is five hits away from tying Willingham at 205.
UNA wrapped up the three-game weekend with an 11-1 mercy rule win over the Knights to cap the series win on Saturday. It took only seven innings to finish the job as Leighton Jenkins doubled to score Bryant Loving to end the game.
This is the fourth conference series win this season for UNA, the most in a single season in UNA’s seven-year Division I history.
The Lions (15-22, 10-8 ASUN) had 13 hits Saturdaye with a .419 batting average as a team. North Alabama hit .400 with runners in scoring position and .412 with runners on base.
Matthew Delgado, Wes Walker, and RJ Sherwood all hit home runs, each clearing the high left field wall. UNA’s five doubles were a season-high.
This was also the first run-rule victory for North Alabama this season.
