Mars Hill, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (15-4, 2-1) won the first South Atlantic Conference series of the year with a 9-1 triumph over Mars Hill (14-8, 3-3) Sunday afternoon in the final game of the weekend at Henderson Field.

Lenoir-Rhyne senior shortstop Matthew De La Rosa (Austin, Texas) hit a three-run home run in the first inning and finished with three hits and six runs batted in as the Bears took control early in the contest.

On the mound, four Bears limited the Lions to just one run in the contest.  Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore Landon Whitson (Marion, N.C.) improved to 2-1 on the year after starting the game and strikeout out five batters in five innings of work.

The Bears added two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, to round out the scoring.

Mars Hill's Dylan Powers (Botetourt, Va.) had a run-scoring double in the third inning while Tom Mastrodonato (Rochester, N.Y.) fell to 3-1 on the year after suffering the loss.

Lenoir-Rhyne freshman outfielder Justin Dean (Mauldin, S.C.) added three runs scored, two hits and an RBI for the Bears, who limited the Lions to just six hits on the afternoon as well.

Lenoir-Rhyne returns home to face Belmont Abbey on Tuesday afternoon at Bears Field beginning at 4:00 p.m.  Mars Hill hosts Southern Wesleyan on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.