Baseball Completes Sweep of Fairmont State
Michael Bueker hits .625 in series
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Lions completed the four-game sweep of Fairmont State University Sunday afternoon at Henderson Field. Mars Hill won by scores of 11-7 and 14-3. Game two was called due to darkness in the sixth inning. The Lions improved to 5-4 overall while the Fighting Falcons fell to 0-4 on the year.
Game 1: MHC 11, FSU 7
MHC took a 3-0 lead in their first at-bat highlighted
by a two RBI double by Rusty Smith. The teams traded single runs in
the second frame before FSU took a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning
after the Fighting Falcons scored five runs on four hits and one
Lion error. Garrett Fetty hit a double to center that scored two of
the five runs.
MHC tied the game in the fifth inning scoring a pair of runs thanks to a RBI double from Christian Diaz and a RBI drag bunt by Michael Bueker. The Lions put the game away in the sixth inning scoring five runs on six hits. The Falcons managed to push across one run in the seventh inning but Tony Hearell got Craig Szymczak to fly out to center to pick up his first save on the year.
Tyler Stephenson picked up the win (1-0) for the Lions throwing 1.2 innings in relief. Adam Lewis went 3-4 with two RBI and the same number of runs scored to lead Mars Hill at the plate. Bueker and Diaz both had two hits apiece and two RBI each in the win. Ryan Fenwick took the loss (0-1) on the mound for FSU. Jimmy Earp led FSU at the plate going 4-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Shaun Vernesoni followed going 3-4 with two runs scored.
Game 2: MHC 14, FSU 3
The Lions belted out 17 hits en route to a 14-3
victory in game two. After FSU scored two runs to start the game,
MHC answered with four runs in the bottom of the first inning and
the Lions never looked back. Michael Brittian cleared the bases on
a double to right-center that drove in three of the four runs in
the inning.
After FSU scored a single run in the third frame, MHC put five more runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning to put the game out of reach. Dalton Hardee had a RBI double in the inning.
The Lions scored two runs in both the fourth and fifth inning to make the final tally 14-3 in favor of the hosts. Rusty Smith led off the fourth inning with a homerun over the left field fence, the Lions first homer of the year using the new BBCOR (ball-bat coefficient of restitution) bats.
Bueker, Smith and Brittian had three hits apiece to lead MHC at
the plate. Brittian recorded four RBI in the win while Smith had
three RBI and the same number of runs scored. Nick Merchant picked
up his first win as a Lion (1-0) pitching 2.2 innings in
relief.
Nick Mayle took the loss (0-1) for FSU on the mound. Jimmy Earp
again led the Falcons at the plate going 2-3 with a run scored. MHC
held FSU to just one extra base hit in game two.
The Lions will return to action on February 15, when they play
at Belmont Abbey College. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
