Hickory, N.C.--Lenoir-Rhyne's Baseball Team dropped a pair of SAC games on Friday afternoon at Durham Field to Mars Hill.
Will Jones reached base six times on the day but the Bears fell 3-1 and 8-4 on the afternoon.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game One Final: Mars Hill 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1
Game Two Final: Mars Hill 8, Lenoir-Rhyne 4
Records: Mars Hill (12-10, 9-9 SAC) | Lenoir-Rhyne (14-9, 11-7 SAC)
Location: Durham Field | Hickory, N.C.
STATS OF GAME ONE:
- Mars Hill scored the first run in the fifth after a two-base error and a bunt single. The Bears got Mars Hill's Kyle Jenkins in a pickle between first and second but a bad throw let Scottie Lee come in to score from third to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
- The Lions added a run with a leadoff single by Ruben Trillo then a double by Trevor Bailey.
- A two-out, pinch-hit RBI single by Mike McHugh got the Bears on the board in the sixth.
- Alex Shirazi (3-2) went 5 2/3 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out seven.
- After the Lions added insurance in the 7th, the Bears got the lead-off man on in the bottom half but could not do anything else as Mars Hill's A.J. Chacon (4-1) went the distance on the mound.
- Chacon worked around seven walks to limit the Bears to the one run on the afternoon.
- Will Jones reached base all four times with four walks in the game.
STATS OF GAME TWO:
- Lions jumped on Bears starter Tanner Moyers in the first scoring three runs. Tyler Lala hit a two-run homerun then Lee drove in the third run in the inning with a double.
- In the 4th, Mars Hill used three walks, two hit batters, a wild pitch, error and a timely double by Ruben Trillo to score three more runs to open a 6-0 lead.
- E.J. Ranel's 6th homerun gave the Bears their first hit to lead off the bottom of the 5th.
- David Bell and Wade Cuda added two-out RBI singles to cut the Lions lead in half later in the inning.
- Ranel's sac fly in the bottom of the 6th got LR within two.
- In the 9th, Mars Hill used a pitch hit two-run double by Kam Reyonlds to double the lead to 8-4.
- LR had threats in the 6th and 9th innings but Mars Hill got inning-ending double plays to end the scoring threat.
- Kanan Butler went 3 1/3 innings out of the pen for the Bears striking out a career-high six hitters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The two teams did not play in conference play last year but did meet up in Florence, S.C. on the opening weekend for a non-conference matchup. LR came out ahead with a 9-4 win.
- Lions got their first win against the Bears in the last six games. Mars Hill last win against the Bears was St. Patrick's Day in 2018.
- Jones' four walks in the first game were the most walks in a game since Zach Jacobs walked four times against Pfeiffer on April 4, 2017.
- Before setting a career-high in strikeouts today, Butler had four strikeouts against Limestone on April 2, 2019.
- Bears drop to 3-6 when their opponents score first.
UP NEXT: The teams will conclude their weekend series with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM. Pre-game festivities will start at 12:40 with the ribbon cutting for the new Durham Field.