Lions Rally Late For Walkoff Win

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill baseball team overcame an early hole to defeat the Southern Wesleyan Warriors in non-conference baseball action on Tuesday, March 08 at Don Henderson Field. The Lions improve to 15-8 on the season while dropping the Warriors to 8-12.

Ray Carolina led the way offensively for MHU, going 4-5 and scoring two runs. Brett Brubaker collected three RBIs followed by Drayden Williams' two runs knocked in. Dalton Eisenbath went two-for-four on the afternoon to round out the top performers.

The Lions showed resiliency throughout the entire game and it paid off in the bottom of inning number 11. After Rogers drew a leadoff walk he then stole second to put the winning run in scoring position. Carolina hit a ball up the middle with the shortstop shaded behind the pitcher and somehow it found its way into the outfield and sent the Lions' bench into walk-off victory mode as they were able to overcome a 6-1 deficit and pull out a gutsy win.

The Warriors set the tone early with a three-run first inning following four hits and a defensive miscue from the Lions. Mars Hill gained one of those runs back in the home half of the first after a RBI groundout from Brett Brubaker, but a two-run shot in the second for SWU staked the visitors to a comfortable 6-1 lead after three innings of play.

Mars Hill tacked on a single run in the bottom of the fifth after the combo of Rogers and Carolina put runners on the corners with one out. Williams produced the RBI with a groundout to second.

The Warriors loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, but relief pitcher Fausto Turro induced a harmless ground ball to second to escape the jam and leave the Lions within striking distance. The Lions took advantage of the misfortune of the Warriors, scratching the scoreboard for three runs to cut the deficit to a single run, 6-5.

Lance Edwards got the rally started with a hustling, one-out double. Back-to-back free passes loaded the bases and Williams produced his second RBI of the game with a bloop single down the right field line. A pitching change by the Warriors had little effect as he sandwiched a strikeout in between two walks to plate the third and fourth runs of the inning. An unfortunate ricochet off the backstop after a wild pitch caught a Lions runner in a pickle to end the inning.

The Lions squandered a scoring opportunity in the eighth, but when presented with the same chance in the bottom of the ninth the Lions pushed across the game-tying run. Carolina collected his fourth hit of the afternoon with a leadoff double to the gap and Williams laid down a beautifully executed sacrifice bunt to leave the run 90-feet away. Brubaker then hit a grounder to a drawn in infield and the second baseman had trouble handling it, allowing the Blue and Gold to knot the game at 6-all.

Relief pitcher Tyler Sides was called upon out of the bullpen and made the most of it as he was able to retire six Warriors over the next two innings while only allowing a single base runner via a walk to pick up his first win of the season.

Mars Hill will hit the road this weekend as it begins a three game set with Carson-Newman. The Lions and Eagles will get together on Friday, March 11 for a single game before wrapping the series up with a twin-billing on Saturday. First pitch on Friday is set for 2:00 p.m.