Stampler, Lions homerun derby leads to win over Southern Wesleyan

MARS HILL, N.C. – Six Lions' homeruns powered Mars Hill (7-17-1) to a 14-7 win over Southern Wesleyan (12-17) at Henderson Field in non-conference play Tuesday afternoon.

Entering the sixth inning trailing 6-4, Christian Stampler led off the Lions' at-bats with a solo homerun to left field to pull within one run. Barrett Hennings followed Stampler with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Shomarii Thomas was walked and later advanced to second on a single from Devin Mangum that scored Hennings to tie the game at six. With no outs in the inning, Cody Cline was walked to load the bases.

As Daniel Vitello was at bat with a 3-1 count, action was postponed due to a lightning/rain delay for an hour and fifteen minutes. Returning to the field at 6 p.m., Vitello was struck by the first pitch to plate Thomas. A walk to Travis Owens put the Lions up 8-6 and a two-RBI double from Matt Honeycutt extended the lead.

A double-play followed before Stampler returned to the plate and, this time, went opposite field for his second homerun of the inning. Thomas' RBI double late in the inning capped off a nine-run outburst for the Lions.

Cline would add another run for Mars Hill in the bottom of the seventh, a solo homerun to right field. Southern Wesleyan's comeback bid was for naught, scoring only one run in the top of the ninth.

The Lions opened the contest with two runs in the first inning. With two outs in the opening frame, back-to-back homeruns by Honeycutt and Brett Brubaker gave Mars Hill their first lead of the day. Thomas tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homerun to left field, the third Mars Hill homerun of the game.

Southern Wesleyan's offense came to life in the top of the fifth, taking a 5-3 lead. Allowing two singles to open the inning, Jesse Getford cleared the bases with a three-run bomb to left field to tie the game at three. With one out and runners on second and third, John Garrett's double to center field plated Devin Patrick and Noah Fritz and gave the Warrior's their only lead of the contest.

Chipping into the deficit, Owens' RBI double scored Cline, who singled to open the bottom of the fifth. Trey Matthews reestablished the two-run lead with a solo homerun in the top of the sixth to give the Warriors a 6-4 edge.

Stampler and Thomas each went 3-for-4 and, combined, drove in five RBI. Matthews and Quinton Bent each went 2-for-4 for the Warriors to lead them offensively.

Bryson Bailey earned the win for the Lions, improving to 2-0 on the season. He allowed one run on one hit in one inning pitched. He also struck out two batters. Kyle Cook-McCrary suffers the loss, allowing two runs on one hit with no outs collected.

Mars Hill returns to action on Friday, March 23 with a South Atlantic Conference game versus Catawba. First pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.