Baseball Sweeps WSSU
The Lions’ baseball team swept a double-header from Winston-Salem State Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions' baseball team swept a double-header from Winston-Salem State Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field. Mars Hill won the first game 7-3 and then won game two in extra innings, 3-2. The Lions improved to 4-2 on the year while the Rams fell to 0-5 on the season.
Game 1: MHU 7, WSSU 3
Brett Brubaker led the Lions at the plate in game one going 2-4 at the plate with a homerun, a double and three RBI. Devin Mangum and Shomari Thomas followed with two hits and a double apiece in the win. Alec Bivens obtained the win (1-1) pitching five innings allowing six hits and striking out four batters.
Emilio Abreau led the Rams going 2-3 with a pair of RBI. Kanoa Hironaka suffered the loss (0-2) on the mound for WSSU.
An RBI double by Brubaker and a RBI single by Christian Stampler gave the Lions a 2-0 advantage in their first at-bat. A single run by WSSU in the second inning trimmed the deficit to a single run (2-1).
The Lions put the game away in the third frame scoring five runs on four hits and one Ram error. The inning was highlighted by a two-run homer from Brubaker and a two-RBI double by Thomas. WSSU added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings but the Lions defense held strong down the stretch to make the final tally 7-3 in favor of the hosts.
Game 2: MHU 3, WSSU 2
Matt Honeycutt went 2-4 with the game winning homerun to lead the Lions at the plate. Brubaker followed, also going 2-4, while Stampler added a solo homerun. Kaleb McCurry picked up the win (1-0) pitching the final two innings in relief scattering just three hits and allowing no runs. The game was scheduled for seven innings.
Brandon Ford and Willie McCrae led the Rams offensively with two hits each. Ford added a double. Ivan Acuna took the loss (0-2) on the mound for WSSU.
Ford scored in the top of the second inning off a sacrifice fly by Matt Mauldin to give WSSU a 1-0 lead. MHU tied the contest in the bottom half of the second inning when Shomari Thomas scored on a throwing error by the Rams catcher after successfully stealing third base.
Stampler hit a solo homerun to left field in the sixth inning to give the Lions a 2-1 advantage. The Rams sent the game into extra innings in the top of the seventh when John Garcia was sent to the plate on a Mars Hill balk. After two scoreless innings, Honeycutt belted a two out solo shot over the left-center field fence to account for the game winning run.
The teams will conclude the three-game series tomorrow at Henderson Field. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.