Jefferson City, Tenn. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (18-14, 4-9) staged a furious rally in the ninth inning but came up short to Carson-Newman (17-16, 6-7), 11-8, Friday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference game at the Silver Diamond Complex.

Trailing by an 11-2 score, the Bears plated six runs in their half of the ninth inning but the deficit was too great to overcome.  Sophomore first baseman Alex Reynolds (Kings Mountain, N.C.) and freshman designated hitter Brandon Lam (Bradenton, Fla.) both had two-run hits to highlight the frame.  

Carson-Newman took control with a seven-run eighth inning aided by three Lenoir-Rhyne errors.  Six of the Eagles' 11 runs were unearned on the day.

The Eagles were also powered by three home runs courtesy of Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.), Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) and Brett Langhorne (Mechanicsville, Va.).  Jones finished with a game-high three runs batted in.

On the mound, Carson-Newman's Greg Valentine (Knoxville, Tenn.) improved to 3-0 on the year after earning the win while Lenoir-Rhyne senior Thomas St. Clair (Winston-Salem, N.C.) (8-2) suffered the loss.  St. Clair allowed just two earned runs while pitching six innings and increased his national-leading strikeout total to 90 after fanning 11 on the afternoon.

The two teams wrap up the weekend league series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at Noon.