Salisbury, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (14-6, 3-1) opened up a South Atlantic Conference weekend series with a huge 3-2 victory over rival Catawba (7-10, 3-1) Friday evening at Newman Park.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Catawba 2
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (14-6, 3-1 SAC), Catawba (7-10, 3-1 SAC)
Location: Newman Park | Salisbury, N.C.
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STATS OF THE GAME:
•    Lenoir-Rhyne junior designated hitter Clayton Jeffries (Lakeland, Fla.) broke a two-all tie with the game-winning solo home run to lead off the top of the ninth inning.  Jeffries finished with two hits and two runs batted in.  Lenoir-Rhyne's starter - junior Hunter Martin (Stanfield, N.C.) - allowed just one run in five innings of work while striking out seven batters.
•    Lenoir-Rhyne senior Landon Whitson (Marion, N.C.) improved to 2-0 after earning the victory.  Whitson registered the final five outs of the contest.
•    For Catawba, Jacob Nester (Kernersville, N.C.) tallied a run-scoring single while Clay Young (Greensboro, N.C.) fell to 1-2 after taking the loss.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
•    Lenoir-Rhyne turned its first triple play in recent memory in the bottom of the fourth inning.
•    Catawba had come into the contest on a four-game winning streak and outscored Coker by a 57-10 margin in a three-game league sweep last weekend at home.

UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba wrap up the weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., in Salisbury, N.C.