GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team concluded the South Atlantic Conference portion of their schedule with a pair of one-run losses on Monday at Tusculum. The Bears dropped all three games to the Pioneers by one run.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Finals: Tusculum 6, Lenoir-Rhyne 5; Tusculum 5, Lenoir-Rhyne 4 (9 Inn.)
Records: Tusculum (30-19, 17-7 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (22-27, 7-17 SAC)
Location: Pioneer Park | Greeneville, Tenn.
STATS OF GAME ONE:
• LR and Tusculum ended up locked in a one-run ballgame once again in game two of the series. After the Bears put up a four-spot in the top of the sixth, it was the Pioneers who used a two-run homer after an error that put the home team on top for good.
• Jackson had the biggest day at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored.
Zack Shoemaker also was a stand out for the Bears as he was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and three RBIs to go along with one run scored.
•
Alex Shirazi was given the start on the mound in game one of the doubleheader, as he allowed four runs on six hits, walked three, struck out three and all in 4.1 innings of work.
Kain Kiser, who threw 3.0 innings, took the loss despite giving up a pair of unearned runs on the homerun by Bradley Evans.
• The Pioneers were led at the plate by Nate Montgomery (2-for-4, three RBIs) and Evans (2-for-4, two RBIs) whose homer proved to be the series clincher.
STATS OF GAME TWO:
• The Bears and Pioneers were caught in the third neck-and-neck battle of the series, as it was tied 4-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning. It was Tusculum's Bryson Ford who hit the walk-off single up the middle, bringing in Zack Finchum to score the game's winning run.
• Senior
Hunter Martin, in his second appearance of the weekend, took the loss.
Paul Hall was the game's starter and the senior allowed just two hits while striking out seven.
• LR was led at the plate by
Corbin Watson, fresh off an injury, who went 2-for-3 and a walk.
Matthew Freeman was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a homerun that cut this game to 4-3 in the fifth inning.
• Tusculum was led at the plate by Ford (2-for-3 with a walk, run scored and one run driven in - the game-winner) and Montgomery whose only hit was a grand slam in the third inning.
• Andrew Willis was the starter, and he worked five complete innings but gave up three runs on four hits and walked four while fanning seven Bears batters. Alec Lay worked the two extra innings in the ballgame and held the road team to one hit and no runs, earning his third victory of the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• The Bears have lost five of the past six games heading into the final game of the season.
• Freeman hit his sixth home run of the year in game two, extending his hit streak to 11 games and 15 of the past 16. He also stole his first base of the season in the seventh inning of game two.
• Lenoir-Rhyne ended the road schedule with a winning mark of 14-11 in games away from Bears Field.
• All three games were decided by one run, the first time that has occurred in a weekend series this spring.
UP NEXT:
LR will play host to Erskine for the final game of the 2019 campaign on Tuesday with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
