Wingate, N.C.----Three different Bulldogs connected on homers Friday night, leading No. 22 Wingate University to a 7-3 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference baseball action at Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field. Wingate improves to 16-5 overall and 5-2 in the SAC, while the Lions fall to 5-13-1 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Junior infielder
Tyler Schneider (Richland, Ind.) had a homer and three RBI to lead the Wingate offense. Juniors
Tanner Forry (York, Pa.) and
Andrew Llewellyn (Moseley, Va.) each added a homer, while freshman outfielder
Justin Guy (Greensboro, N.C.) added a hit, RBI and run scored for the Bulldogs. Senior outfielder
Ty Andrus (Winston-Salem, N.C.) also drove in a run.
Travis Owens homered to lead the Mars Hill offense.
Barrett Hennings and
Brett Brubaker each added an RBI for the Lions, with
Matt Honeycutt adding a double and run scored for the Lions.
Wingate got on the board in the second when Forry led off the frame with his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot to right.
The Bulldogs used a three-run fifth to take a 4-0 lead. Guy started the inning with a single, while a hit batsman put runners on first and second for Schneider, who connected on a three-run shot to dead center. His second homer of the year put the 'Dogs on to by four.
Wingate put another three-spot on the board in the sixth to push the advantage to seven. Llewellyn started the inning with a towering solo shot to left, his third of the season to make it 5-0.
Zach Little (Troutman, N.C.) followed with a double, then scored on Guy's RBI groundout, while an RBI bunt single from Andrus made it 7-0.
Owens got the Lions on the board in the top of the seventh, leading off the frame with a solo shot to right. Honeycutt followed with a double, then scored on a Hennings RBI single to make it 7-2. An RBI single from Brubaker in the eighth made the final margin 7-3.
Senior right-hander
Hunter Morgan (Summerfield, N.C.) got the win, moving to 3-0 on the year. He allowed three runs on six hits in seven innings of work, striking out five and walking two. He threw 93 pitches on the night, getting 11 groundball outs. Junior right-hander
Austin Turgeon (Athens, Ga.) tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings in relief, striking out three and walking two.
Zac Brown took the loss for the Lions, falling to 1-2. He allowed seven runs on nine hits in six innings, striking out nine without walking a batter.
The Bulldogs and Lions are back in action Saturday, wrapping up the three-game series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
