Baseball Wins Second SAC Series

NEWBERRY, S.C. – Mars Hill won their second consecutive South Atlantic Conference baseball series by splitting a double-header with Newberry College on Sunday afternoon. The Lions won a single game yesterday by a score of 3-1. MHU improved to 4-6 overall and 4-2 in the SAC. The Wolves fell to 7-3 on the season and 3-3 in the league.

Designated hitter David King had a great series at the plate for the Lions hitting .600 going 6-10 with three RBI. Outfielders Tommy Scala and Andy Runion both hit .444 (4-9). Scala had an RBI and two stolen bases. Outfielder Phillip Carroll went 3-10 (.300) with a team high five RBI and two runs scored. Caleb Edwards had a solid pitching performance on Friday night throwing seven innings scattering six hits allowing no earned runs to pick up his second conference win of the season. He struck out his career high nine batters in the victory.

Game 1: MHU 8, NC 6

David King went 4-4 at the plate with two RBI to lead the Lions offensively. Phillip Carroll went 1-3 with three RBI and a run scored while Jacob Rand was 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Dale Innes threw five innings to pick up his second win of the year. Kevin Searcy got the save throwing the final inning.

JoJo Bradley and Trey Scott led Newberry with two hits apiece. Scott added a pair of RBI. Daniel Nations took the loss on the mound for the Wolves pitching in relief.

Newberry jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second inning on one hit. Scott had a two-RBI single in the frame and the other run crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

The Lions tied the contest at 3-all in their next at-bat on two hits and two Newberry miscues. Albert Baur scored Jermale Paige on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning to give the Wolves a 4-3 lead.

The Lions regained the lead 5-4 in the fourth inning scoring two runs highlighted by a RBI double from Evan Rogers. Again the Wolves tied the game when Baur singled down the right field line to plate Ryan Cranmer. Carroll gave the Lions the lead for good (8-5) in the sixth inning when he singled through the left side to score Caleb Harbin and Rogers. Newberry scored their final run in the seventh inning but Searcy was able to keep the Wolves at bay and pick up his first save of the year.

Game 2: NC 12, MHU 3

The Wolves broke open the final game of the series with nine straight singles in the fourth inning to put up an eight-run frame and finish the series with a 12-3 victory.

The Lions were led by Carroll who was 1-2 with an RBI. Tommy Scala went 1-3 with an RBI. Bradley Moffitt suffered the loss on the mound for MHU pitching in relief.

Mars Hill scored first in the third inning, putting up two unearned runs. The Wolves matched that in the bottom of the third on a Baur RBI single and Cranmer scored from third on a wild pitch.

After inducing an inning-ending double play in the top of the fourth, the Wolves went on a huge rally with 10 straight base runners and nine straight singles with one out. Only a sacrifice fly would end that surge with the Wolves pushing eight runs across and taking a commanding 10-2 lead.

Mars Hill scratched one run across in the fifth on a Carroll RBI single and the Wolves closed the game's scoring in the bottom of the fifth with a run of extra base hits from the meat of the order as Cranmer, Baur and Barbieri all hit doubles to plate a pair.

Wesley Camp moved his record to 3-0 on the year by allowing three runs - one earned - in 5.0 innings pitched on four hits. Baur was 3-for-3 in the game while Cranmer, Barbieri and Bradley had two hits apiece. The Wolves combined for 15 hits in the contest.

MHU will return to action on February 18 when they play a non-conference double-header at Brevard College. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.