Wingate, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (20-12, 9-6) split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with first-place Wingate (24-8, 11-4) Sunday afternoon at Ron Christopher Stadium. LR won the first contest by a 4-0 score while Wingate pulled out the 1-0 victory in the nightcap in eight innings to force the split.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Wingate 0; Wingate 1, Lenoir-Rhyne 0 (eight innings)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (20-12, 9-6 SAC), Wingate (24-8, 11-4 SAC)
Location: Ron Christopher Stadium | Wingate, N.C.
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STATS OF THE GAME (Game 1):
• Lenoir-Rhyne senior
Matt Sullivan (Bristol, Va.) improved to 4-1 on the year after throwing a one-hitter over seven innings. Sullivan also struck out nine batters while senior
Landon Whitson (Marion, N.C.) threw two scoreless innings for his school-record eighth save of the year for the Bears.
• Lenoir-Rhyne junior designated hitter
Caleb Beatty (Falls Church, Va.) hit a pair of solo home runs in back-to-back innings – the sixth and seventh frames – while senior catcher
Cole Fowler (Dobson, N.C.) also drove in a pair of runs in the victory.
• Wingate's Hunter Hamilton (Troy, N.C.) fell to 1-2 after taking the loss.
STATS OF THE GAME (Game 2):
• The Bulldogs' Bradley Brown (Hamlet, N.C.) broke a scoreless tie with a walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning.
• Wingate's Austin Turgeon (Athens, Ga.) (3-2) threw a three-hit shutout to go along with six strikeouts and outdueled Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore
John Grigg (Lawndale, N.C.). Grigg (5-1) also went the distance in addition to striking out seven batters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Before giving up a run in the final at-bat, Lenoir-Rhyne held Wingate off the scoreboard for 17 consecutive innings.
• Beatty had the Bears' first two-homer game since junior first baseman
Alex Reynolds (Kings Mountain, N.C.) hit a pair of round-trippers on April 7, 2017, a 10-1 victory over Wingate at Bears Field.
UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne returns home to face Augusta on Tuesday at Bears Field beginning at 5:00 p.m. Wingate hosts Erskine on Monday starting at 3:00 p.m.