MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team swept a doubleheader at Mars Hill on Saturday, winning game one 7-1 and then outlasting the Lions in nine innings in the nightcap, 10-7. The Bears have now won six straight and sit atop the South Atlantic Conference standings.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Finals: Lenoir-Rhyne 7, Mars Hill 1; Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Mars Hill 7 (9 innings)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (22-10, 5-2 SAC), Mars Hill (20-11, 4-4 SAC)
Location: Ponder Field | Mars Hill, N.C.
STATS OF GAME ONE:
• For the second time in three games,
Savannah Moorefield and
Erin Boone hit back-to-back home runs. In the top of the third with LR trailing 1-0, Moorefield went deep followed by Boone who broke the all-time record for runs scored with the solo blast. Boone now has 202, passing the mark set by Taylor Queen in 2008.
•
Talon LaClair added an RBI double to score Moorefield in the fifth inning to give the Bears a 3-1 advantage. That was all the offense that
Brandi Parks would need as the senior tossed a complete game and struck out four batters with just one run allowed.
• LaClair's third double of the game came in the seventh inning, scoring a pair of runners. The next batter,
Kylee Leonhardt, crushed a 2-run bomb for her fourth long ball of the season.
• LaClair finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Moorefield scored three times and added a stolen base and
Mackensi Swain drew a pair of walks.
STATS OF GAME TWO:
• A 3-run homer from the home team gave Mars Hill a 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the third. With the Bears batting in the fifth, it looked like a split was in order. However, a 2-out rally concluded with a game-tying 3-run bomb from freshman
Leanna Sherrill.
• Mars Hill added one in the bottom of the fifth but the Bears reclaimed the lead on a 2-RBI single from Swain to make it 6-5 in the sixth. The back-and-forth contest saw Mars Hill even the contest in the bottom of the sixth eventually sending the game to extra innings.
• In the top of the eighth, LR took a 7-6 advantage on a sacrifice fly from Sherrill, her fourth RBI of the game. However, the Lions would even the contest in the bottom of the inning to send it to the ninth.
• The Bears were determined to come away with the sweep and pushed across three runs on three hits in the ninth.
Macie Gibson drove in the eventual game-winner with a single and Boone drove in one more with a base hit. The third run came on a single from LaClair, sending the Bears to a sixth straight win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Parks earned wins in both games, giving her a league-leading 16 on the season.
• Game two saw four ties and six lead changes.
• The Bears sit 1/2 game ahead of Lincoln Memorial and Queens in the SAC standings.
UP NEXT:
The Bears are back in action on Wednesday when they host Queens at 3 p.m. with sole possession of first place on the line.
