FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. - Lenoir-Rhyne baseball is off to a hot start in 2022, sweeping its doubleheader with Emmanuel today by scores of 4-2 and 5-4. Both starting pitchers earned wins for LR, and the Bear bullpen collected two saves on the day. This is the first time since 2018 that LR has won its first three games of the season, and will look to complete the four-game sweep tomorrow.
 
"Two good wins for us today," said head coach Chris Ramirez. "We talked all offseason about training to have the composure and execution to win these close games, and it was cool to see that pay off today. Last year was a weird year in that we didn't play a ton of close games like we did today, but it's great for us to get experience like this and to hold on to win two close games on the road.
 
I was happy with our pitching. Both starters battled and gave us good innings, and we really like that we have multiple guys that we feel comfortable giving the baseball to with the lead in late-game situations. Offensively, I thought we did well in not great conditions. It was windy, it's a big ballpark here, and we got enough hits at the right times to win."
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Game one final: Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Emmanuel 2
Game two final: Lenoir-Rhyne 5, Emmanuel 4
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (3-0), Emmanuel (1-3)
Location: Franklin Springs, Ga. | Tommy Carey Baseball Field
 
STATS AND INFO
Game one:

• Things got started early for the Bears in game one when Bryce Stober led things off with a single, Drew Yniesta doubled him over to third, and Stober came home on a wild pitch to quickly make it 1-0 Bears. An RBI single from Scott Meitzler brought Yniesta in and it was quickly 2-0.
• Reigning SAC Freshman of the Year Joshua Lanham got the start and the win, and induced an inning-ending double play in the first, stranded a man in the second, allowed single runs in the third and fourth innings, but finished strong striking out the side in the sixth inning. Lanham finished with nine strikeouts.
• David Bell and Matt Mackey added RBI singles in the fourth and fifth innings respectively to round out the scoring for LR.
• Ben Friebel pitched the 7th inning and recorded the save, his eighth save of his career. Friebel induced a double play early in the inning to work around some trouble to preserve the game for the Bears.

Game two:

• Transfer righty Austin Edwards got his first start and win for the Bears, pitching five innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs and striking out four.
• Game two saw things start a little slower offensively for both teams, as neither found the scoreboard until the fourth inning. Brett Eurey got his first RBI of the season for LR, driving in Anthony Porrino.
• Eurey then came around to score on a single from Drew Yniesta, who continues his scorching-hot start to 2022.
• The Lions tied things up in the bottom half of the fifth inning, but then the same part of the Bear order came through again in the sixth.
• Eurey got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Nick Clarno, and then Cole Laskowski drew a bases-loaded walk. Yniesta then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Bell, and that was enough offense for the Bears to hold on.
• After driving in two runs at the plate in the first two games, Scott Meitzler pitched the last two innings for LR, only conceding one walk and striking out four. Michael Allen and Tanner Moyers also pitched for the Bears in relief.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The three game winning streak to start the season is the best start for LR since 2017. That year, the Bears won the first nine games of that season.
• All three starting pitchers for LR have been the winning pitchers in the first three games. Andrew Patrick got the win yesterday, and Lanham and Edwards got the W's today.
• Yniesta is 6 for his first 13 in the Bear red with two doubles, a home run and 11 total bases.
• Last season, the Bears had a 3-5 record when scoring 3-5 runs, and have already matched that win total from a year ago in this series. In 2021, the Bears played 20 games that were decided by 5+ and held a 15-5 record in those games. 

UP NEXT: LR will look to complete the four-game sweep tomorrow at noon.