Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (19-10, 8-4) split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Mars Hill (6-17-1, 3-9) Saturday afternoon at Bears Field. The Lions prevailed in the first contest by an 11-6 score before the Bears rallied to win the nightcap, 4-3.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Mars Hill 11, Lenoir-Rhyne 6; Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Mars Hill 3
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (19-10, 8-4 SAC), Mars Hill (6-17-1, 3-9 SAC)
Location: Bears Field | Hickory, N.C.
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STATS OF THE GAME (Game 1):
• Trailing by a 3-1 score after one inning of play, Mars Hill took control by plating the next seven runs on its way to the win. The Lions' Matt Honeycutt (China Grove, N.C.) led the way with five hits and four runs batted in.
• Lenoir-Rhyne was led by junior outfielder
Aaron Stamper (Clemmons, N.C.), who hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season and finished with three runs batted in. Junior designated hitter
Caleb Beatty (Falls Church, Va.) added three hits and two RBI for the Bears in the setback.
• Mars Hill's Alec Bivins (Lawndale, N.C.) (1-2) earned his first win of the year after going six innings while senior
Matt Sullivan (Bristol, Va.) (3-1) was tagged with the loss for Lenoir-Rhyne.
STATS OF THE GAME (Game 2):
• Lenoir-Rhyne junior first baseman
Alex Reynolds (Kings Mountain, N.C.) came through with the game-winning, two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth as the Bears rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take the win.
• Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore
John Grigg (Lawndale, N.C.) improved to 5-0 on the year after earning the win. Grigg allowed just one earned run in addition to 10 strikeouts in six innings of work while senior
Landon Whitson (Marion, N.C.) pitched a scoreless seventh inning for his seventh save of the year.
• Mars Hill's Travis Owens (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA) hit a solo home run while Mike Ramunno (Hollywood, Fla.) fell to 0-2 after taking the loss for the Lions.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Lenoir-Rhyne has won all four South Atlantic Conference weekend series to start the year and is tied for third currently in the league standings.
• Whitson is tied for Josh Kellar (2007) for most saves in a single season for the Bears.
UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne hits the road to take on No. 13 Belmont Abbey on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., in Belmont, N.C. Mars Hill hosts Southern Wesleyan Tuesday afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m.
