The baseball team swept Stillman College in their double-header home opener 6-5 and 15-3, Feb. 7.

The Lions were behind 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning in game one. UNA tied it up after junior Heath Wood reached on an error, allowing left fielder Jake Smith to score. With two outs and three runners on base, right fielder Dylan Calhoun stepped up to bat and hit a walk off single, bringing center fielder Brandon Pugh in to score.

“I was looking for a pitch middle-end that I could drive, and I got one, and I just put the bat-head to it,” Calhoun said. “I knew something was in the air. We weren’t going to lost that game.”

Head coach Mike Keehn said he was proud the team handled adversity in game one.

“I was just real pleased that they didn’t quit,” Keehn said.

Building off of the momentum from game one, the Lions came out for game two on a mission. By the bottom of the third inning, the Lions were leading 13-1.

After giving up a few early hits, junior Riley Sanderson settled in and pitched five innings and gave up one run for the Lions.

“Once he settled down, he pitched extremely well. He kept them off balanced,” Keehn said.

The Lions mercy ruled the Tigers in game two.

Dylan Calhoun said that this home opener win was huge, especially because he has big expectations this year for the team.

Keehn said he is proud of his 4 – 0 team, but is urging them to stay grounded, and use these games to prepare for the next step of their season.

“This time of year, you have to play every inning hard, and work, and improve,” he said. “We’ve got conference next weekend. You don’t have time to pat yourself on the back, we just have to stay focused on what we need to get better at.”

UNA wraps up the series against Stillman Feb. 8 at 1 p.m.

The Lions first conference game is against the University of West Florida Feb. 14, in Pensacola, Florida.