Wingate, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (19-11, 8-5) fell to Wingate (23-7, 10-3) by a 5-1 score in the opening contest of a South Atlantic Conference weekend series Friday night at Ron Christopher Stadium.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Wingate 5, Lenoir-Rhyne 1
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (19-11, 8-5 SAC), Wingate (23-7, 10-3 SAC)
Location: Ron Christopher Stadium | Wingate, N.C.
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STATS OF THE GAME (Game 1):
•    Hunter Morgan (Summerfield, N.C.) (4-0) allowed just one run while pitching into the eighth inning in picking up the win for the Bulldogs, who took over sole possession of first place in the league standings.
•    Wingate's Zach Little (Troutman, N.C.) led the way with two hits and two runs batted in as the Bulldogs took control with a three-run sixth inning.
•    Lenoir-Rhyne junior designated hitter Caleb Beatty (Falls Church, Va.) hit a pair of doubles and drove in the Bears' lone run - junior first baseman Alex Reynolds (Kings Mountain, N.C.) - despite the loss.  Lenoir-Rhyne junior Hunter Martin (Stanfield, N.C.) fell to 1-3 after taking the loss.  Two of the five runs the Bears gave up were unearned.  Martin struck out three batters while pitching into the sixth inning.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
•    The Bears still have an opportunity to win a South Atlantic Conference series for the fifth straight weekend.
•    Beatty has a .615 batting average (eight-for-13) as the starting designated hitter over the last four games (the first four contests Beatty has played this year).

UP NEXT:
The two teams will wrap up the league weekend series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., with a doubleheader.