Baseball WIns Series Againt Eagles
The Lions split a double-header with Carson-Newman Sunday at Henderson Field to win the South Atlantic Conference series with the Eagles.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions split a double-header with Carson-Newman Sunday at Henderson Field to win the South Atlantic Conference series with the Eagles. Mars Hill won the first game 13-3 and then lost the nightcap, 6-2. MHU is now 6-13 on the season, 3-9 in the league. The Eagles took their record to 10-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
Evan Rogers hit .700 in the series going 7-10 with a triple, a double, three RBI and the same number of runs scored. He walked once, got hit at the plate once and did not strike out in 13 at-bats on the weekend. He had a .692 on-base percentage and recorded a perfect fielding percentage at shortstop in nine chances. He also drove in the game tying and winning runs in the Lions' 4-2 victory on Saturday.
Game 1: MHU 13, C-N 3
Rayshelon Carolina led MHU in game one going 2-2 with four RBI, two doubles, a run scored and three walks. Dylan Powers was 1-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Dalton Eisenbath went 1-3 with a homerun and three RBI. Nick Villalobos also had a homerun in three at-bats and drove in a pair of runs. Rogers was 2-2 with a double, two runs scored and a RBI. Hunter Boydston threw a complete game scattering six hits and allowed only two earned runs. He struck out six batters.
Brandon Roberts was 1-3 with a homerun and two RBI to pace the Eagles at the plate. Vince Apicella took the loss (3-3) on the mound for C-N.
The Lions scored four runs in the second inning on four hits. Villalobos hit a two-run homerun to left field and then Carolina hit a two-RBI double down the left field line to plate Rogers and Christian Stampler.
Two innings later, Mars Hill added five runs on two hits highlighted by a three-run blast from Eisenbath. MHU scored two runs in the fifth frame on a sacrifice fly by Rogers and a double from Carolina. The Lions ended their scoring in the sixth inning recording two runs when Alex Zachary crossed the plate on a bases loaded walk and then Zach Honeycutt scored after Powers was hit by a bases loaded pitch.
The Eagles scored all three of their runs in their last at-bat on three hits and one Lion error. Brandon Roberts hit a two-run homerun in the seventh inning to make the final tally 13-3 in favor of the Lions.
Game 2: C-N 6, MHU 2
Dylan Powers and Tommy Scala both went 1-3 with doubles to lead the Lions at the plate in game two. Rogers was 1-4 with a triple and a run scored. Kaleb McCurry took the loss (0-1) pitching in relief for MHU.
Bo Ausmus went 3-4 with three RBI, a double and a pair of runs scored to lead the Eagles to victory. Jamie Miller threw a complete game allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out eight batters to obtain his second win (2-1) of the year on the mound.
Ausmus singled to left field in the game's first at-bat to plate Joe Tipton and give C-N a 1-0 lead. The Lions tied the contest in the bottom half of the first inning after Powers doubled to drive in Rogers who started the Lions' at-bat with a lead-off triple.
The teams held the 1-all tie until the fifth inning when Lance Edwards crossed the plate on a fielder's choice and gave MHU a 2-1 advantage. The Eagles knotted the contest at 2-2 in the sixth inning when Cody Fox singled to score Ausmus.
The Eagles sealed the win in the top of the seventh inning scoring four runs on the same number of hits. Ausmus hit a two-RBI single to plate two of the runs and account for the game winning score.
Mars Hill will host Newberry in a SAC double header on Monday, March 16. The games were originally scheduled for February 20-21 but bad weather forced postponement. The make-up series is set to start at 1 p.m.