Mars Hill splits SAC opener with Limestone at home
The Mars Hill baseball team (1-2, 1-1 SAC) split in their South Atlantic Conference opener versus Limestone (2-3, 1-1 SAC) Saturday afternoon. The Lions won game one in dramatic fashion, 15-14, in the bottom of the seventh, but fell 7-5 in the second game of the day.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill baseball team (1-2, 1-1 SAC) split in their South Atlantic Conference opener versus Limestone (2-3, 1-1 SAC) Saturday afternoon. The Lions won game one in dramatic fashion, 15-14, in the bottom of the seventh, but fell 7-5 in the second game of the day.
GAME ONE: MHU 15, LU 14
Trailing 14-12 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Lions rallied to pick up their first win of the season. Kyle Jenkins sacrifice fly plated Easton Rhoney and allowed Chad Sikes to tag from second and advance to third. Sikes later scored off of Ruben Trillo's fielder's choice to tie the game.
Casey Mawhinney played hero with a walkoff single to score Trillo and complete the Lions' comeback.
Leading 1-0 after one, the Lions allowed eight runs in the second inning, highlighted by Benjamin Huber's three-run home run.
Mars Hill cut into the lead through the second and third innings, trailing 8-7 after three. Zach Weaver drilled a three-run home run over the center field fence in the bottom of the third.
Huber homered again in the top of the fourth, a solo shot. After tacking on two more runs, Trace Whetsell's three-run home run saw the Saints doubling up the Lions, 14-7. Mars Hill responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs, highlighted by Dawson Connell's two-run double to left field. Mawhinney added a RBI single in the inning.
Mawhinney went 4-of-5 from the plate and picked up two RBI. Weaver collected four RBI. Both Whetsell and Huber recorded four RBI on the day.
Luke Kimrey picked up the win for the Lions, allowing three runs on one hit in four innings pitched. Garrett Sutton suffered the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in 2.2 innings.
GAME TWO: LU 7, MHU 5
Limestone used a four-run eighth inning to come from behind and earn the split.
Following a RBI single off the bat of Josh Evans and tying the game on a wild pitch that saw Kyle Raynor score, Alex Cornell's RBI double down the left field line proved to be the game-winning marker. Limestone added an insurance run off of a Lions' passed ball to take the game by a score of 7-5.
Limestone took a 3-0 lead into the fifth before the Lions tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Kyle Jenkins' RBI single put the Lions even and in the bottom of the seventh, Casey Mawhinney's RBI double plated Chad Sikes to give the Lions their first lead of the contest. Later in the frame, Dawson Connell plated Mawhinney to put the Lions up by two.
Sikes led the Lions offensively with three hits in four plate appearances, scoring two runs. Trevor Bailey added two hits. Cornell Benjamin Huber led the way for the Saints with two hits and two runs scored.
The Lions wrap up the series on Sunday, February 21. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m.