March 1, 2008

Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader From Wingate, 14-13 And 13-11

Bears remain the lone team undefeated in South Atlantic Conference play

Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne College Baseball Team (11-9, 6-0) completed the series sweep of Wingate University (8-14, 0-3) with two wins Saturday afternoon at Bears Field. L-R won game one, 14-13, before taking game two, 13-11.

The Bears remain alone atop the South Atlantic Conference standings and is the only team with a perfect league record so far.

Game One – Lenoir-Rhyne 14, Wingate 13
Freshman left fielder Stephen Andrews (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor HS) hit a one-out, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied at 13 to give the Bears the win in game one. The home run was the first of Andrews’ career at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Freshman shortstop Anthony Sully (Charlotte, N.C./Hopewell HS) went three-for-five with six RBI and sophomore second baseman Hank Wofford (Clover, S.C./Clover HS) went four-for-four to lead L-R offensively.

The Bulldogs were led by Dustin Hurdle (Burlington, N.C.) as he went four-for-five with two runs batted in while Grayson Tanner (Sumter, S.C.) had a bases-clearing triple in a six-run Wingate sixth inning despite the loss.

Lenoir-Rhyne held on after taking a 12-5 advantage after five innings of play aided by Sully's three-run home run in the fifth frame.

Senior Josh Keller (Claremont, N.C./Methodist College) (3-1) picked up the win for L-R while Zak Laws (Lenoir, N.C.) (1-1) suffered the loss.

Box Score

Game Two – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Wingate 11 (seven innings)
With the score 11-all, L-R junior Daniel Ford (Youngstown, Ohio) ended the game with a two-run, ground-rule double in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete the sweep.

Lenoir-Rhyne rallied from a 9-5 deficit with six runs in the bottom of the sixth fame highlighted by two-run home runs from senior outfielders Mark Drucker (Boca Raton, Fla./Indian River CC) and J.D. Harrison (Winter Haven, Fla./Polk CC).

Drucker led the Bears with three hits and three runs batted in while sophomore first baseman Zachary Glass (Salisbury, N.C./Salisbury HS) added three hits and four RBI.

Heath Weatherford (Rockingham, N.C.) was Wingate’s top hitter with three hits and two runs batted in.

L-R senior Jesse Beane (Collettsville, N.C.) improved to 1-1 with the victory while Laws fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Box Score
Photo Gallery

Lenoir-Rhyne next travels to Milledgeville, Ga., to face Georgia College & State Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m.