Baseball Splits with Lenoir-Rhyne

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions' baseball team split a South Atlantic Conference double-header with Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field. The Bears won the first game 4-3 and then the Lions won the nightcap, 10-3. Mars Hill is now 14-7 on the season and 3-2 in the SAC. The Bears took their season record to 14-4 overall, 1-1 in the league.

Game 1: Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Mars Hill 3

Hunter Merrill led Mars Hill at the plate going 2-3 with a run scored. Phillip Carroll was 1-2 with a double and a RBI. Zac Brown took the loss (1-2) on the mound for the Lions.

Marcus Shoemaker led the Bears with two hits, a double, two RBI and the same number of runs scored. Austin Hancock obtained the win (3-0) while John Curtis picked up his second save on the year.

Will Thompson doubled to left-center field in the second inning to drive in Marcus Shoemaker and give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Mars Hill tied the game in the fourth inning after Brett Brubaker singled up the middle to plate Evan Rogers. The Lions took a 2-1 advantage in the fifth inning when Carroll doubled to right-center field to score Merrill. The Bears then scored three runs on four hits in the sixth inning to enjoy a 4-2 lead. The at-bat was highlighted by a solo homerun by Justin Lara and a two-RBI single from Shoemaker. Dylan Powers scored the Lions' final run. He doubled to lead off the inning and later scored on a fielder's choice to make the final tally 4-3 in favor of the visitors.

Game 2: Mars Hill 10, Lenoir-Rhyne 3

Powers was 3-5 at the plate in game two with a homerun and five RBI to pace the Lions offensively. Brubaker had two hits, including a homerun and a pair of RBI. Dalton Eisenbath hit a solo homerun. Hunter Boydston threw a complete game scattering five hits while striking out five batters to record his third win (3-1) on the season.

Colby Dishmond led the Bears at the plate going 1-3 with a homerun. Thomas St. Clair suffered the loss (1-1) for L-R on the hill.

Dishmond belted a solo homerun in the Bears first at-bat to give L-R an early advantage. The Lions answered scoring three runs in the second frame after Powers hit a two-run homerun to left field and Brubaker hit a solo shot to right field. The Lions added three more runs in their third at-bat on three hits to extend their lead to 6-1. David Newcomer led the third inning off with a homerun to make the score 6-2.

RBI singles by Powers and Brubaker in the fourth inning gave the Lions an 8-2 lead. After the Bears scored their final run in the top of the fifth inning, MHU scored a single run in the bottom half of the fifth inning and one run in their sixth at-bat to record the 10-3 victory.

The teams will conclude the three-game series tomorrow. First pitch at Henderson Field is set for 1 p.m.