SW Virginia News

No. 14 Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Completes Series Sweep Of Emory & Henry Saturday

The No. 14 nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University Baseball Team (20-5, 6-0 SAC) took both ends of a doubleheader over Emory & Henry College (7-16, 2-7 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action on Saturday. The Bears slugged their way to a 20-5 win in game one before taking game two by a 10-4 margin.

The BasicsGAME ONE – No. 14 Lenoir-Rhyne 20, Emory & Henry 5GAME TWO – No. 14 Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Emory & Henry 4 (seven innings)LOCATION – Emory, VirginiaVENUE – Porterfield-DeVault FieldRECORDS – Emory & Henry (7-16, 2-7 SAC); Lenoir-Rhyne (20-5, 6-0 SAC)

Game One – No. 14 Lenoir-Rhyne 20, Emory & Henry 5The Bears took another early lead in game one as they used a two-run home run from Sal Carricato and a three-run bomb from Wade Cuda to establish the 5-0 advantage. After another run from the Bears in the second, the Wasps got on the scoreboard in the home half of the third. Junior third baseman Jared Foley (Sparta, N.C.) singled and stole second before junior left fielder Wayne Mize (Salisbury, N.C.) cleared the bases with a two-run shot to trim the deficit to 6-2.

L-R continued the offensive barrage in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run from Blake Bean and a two-run homer off the bat of Mason Maxwell to swell the lead to 10-2. E&H answered once more in the bottom half when senior catcher Camden Bailey (Sterling, Ill.) reached on an error followed by back-to-back walks from fifth-year shortstop Mason Lyda (Mills River, N.C.) and Noah Mazza (Plainfield, Ill.) to load the bases. Foley ripped an RBI single through the middle and senior outfielder Tyler Bradley (Bessemer City, N.C.) followed suit with an RBI base knock of his own to make it 10-4. 

The Bears put the game out of reach with two runs in the fifth, six runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth as they took game one by the 20-5 score. 

Andrew Patrick took the win on the mound for the Bears as he went five innings, allowing four runs while striking out eight E&H batters. Junior righty Bryson Wagner (Salisbury, N.C.) took the loss for the Wasps as he gave up six runs on six hits while only recording three outs. 

Game Two – No. 14 Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Emory & Henry 4 (seven innings)Lenoir-Rhyne jumped in front for the third consecutive game against the Wasps and pushed two runs across in the top of the first inning. Sal Carricato laced an RBI double down the left field line and Tyler McPeak brought him home with an RBI single to make it 2-0 Bears. E&H got on the board in the bottom of the first when Bradley reached on an error by the right fielder and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from junior designated hitter Cole Cunningham (Wake Forest, N.C.) to cut the L-R lead to 2-1.

Blake Bean launched his fourth home run of the series in the second inning to increase the lead back to two at 3-1. The Bears continued to pile on the runs as they added two in the top of the third and four more in the fourth inning to balloon their advantage out to 9-1. Foley responded in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out double and scampered home on an RBI single from Bradley to cut it to 9-2. L-R would add one more in the top of the seventh while Bradley had an RBI groundout and junior second baseman Triston Hensley (Covington, Va.) scored on a passed ball to trim the deficit to 10-4 in the home half of the inning, but it was too little too late as the Bears took the win 10-4.  

Jackson Reid earned the winning decision for the Bears, working five innings and allowing just two runs and five hits while fanning six batters. Junior pitcher Andrew Parr (Opelika, Ala.) was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits over 2.1 innings. 

Up NextEmory & Henry will make the trip down I-81 on Wednesday to face off against the Pioneers of Tusculum University. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., at Pioneer Park in Greeneville, Tennessee.

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