HICKORY, NC - Lenoir-Rhyne baseball sent their seniors out in style on Saturday, taking down Tusculum 12-9 and 9-3. Seniors Michael Logan and Sal Carricato combined to go 9-for-15 at the plate with five RBI's and three runs to lead the Bears. 

In game one Owen Blackledge hit the Bears' 96th home run of the year, breaking a 23 year old SAC record set by Carson-Newman in 2002. The Bears hit four home runs on the day and sit at 99 on the season.

Prior to the first game the Bears honored all 25 seniors who are a part of this year's historic team.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game One Final: #20 Lenoir-Rhyne 12, Tusculum 9
Game Two Final: #20 Lenoir-Rhyne  9, Tusculum 3
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (36-9, 20-7 SAC), Tusculum (17-28, 10-17 SAC)
Location: Hickory, NC | Durham Field

STORY OF GAME ONE:

• Bears jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to RBI's from Alex Khan and Mackenzie Wainwright.
• Tusculum cut the lead to 2-1 in the third but Michael Logan answered with an RBI of his own in the fifth. 
• LR went off in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring nine runs to break open the game.
• Owen Blackledge capped off a four-run sixth with a two-run home run to score Mackenzie Wainwright. 
• With two outs in the seventh and the bases loaded, Joseph Mozingo launched a grand slam over the fence for his ninth home run of the year.
• Tusculum made things interesting with six runs in the eighth, but Gavin Marley picked up three strikeouts in the ninth to get his sixth save of the season.
• Michael Logan was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in this game.
• William Girardi (8-1) allowed just one run in six innings of work to pick up the win. 

STORE OF GAME TWO:

• Lenoir-Rhyne took control early, going up 7-0 after four innings.
• Owen Blackledge opened the scoring in the first inning with his second long ball of the day.
• Michael Logan added an RBI in the second before Sal Carricato, Joseph Mozingo, and Nathaneal Keeter each grabbed RBI's in the fourth. 
• Cole Laskowski closed out the scoring with a two-run home run in the fifth.
• Kellen Gradisar (8-2) allowed just three runs in five innings of action to get the win. He opened the game with four no-hit innings.
• Sal Carricato was 4-for-3 with two RBI's and a run scored while Cole Laskowski went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI's. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Bears are now 36-52 all-time against the Pioneers and have split the last six.
• Laskowski stole his 34th  career base, which ties him with Justin Dean for 10th most all-time. 
• Wainwright has reached base in all 45 games this season. 
• Laskowski is now rocking an 11-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT: The Bears will travel to Concord on Tuesday for a mid-week contest. The Bears defeated Concord 12-4 on March 25 at Durham Field. First-pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM.