HobbsDailyReport.com
WINGATE – Strong pitching carried the day on Sunday as Lenoir-Rhyne University split a conference baseball doubleheader with first-place Wingate on the road.
The Bears won the opening game 4-0 to pick up their 20th win of the year before the Bulldogs took the nightcap 1-0.
Wingate improved to 24-8 overall and 11-4 in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) while LRU headed home at 20-12, 9-6 and next plays on Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Augusta in Hickory.
LRU 4, Wingate 0
SULLIVAN
Junior Matt Sullivan improved to 4-1 after throwing a one-hitter over seven innings. He also struck out nine while senior Landon Whitson threw two scoreless innings for his school-record eighth save of the year.
Junior designated hitter Caleb Beatty hit two solo home runs in back-to-back innings – the sixth and seventh – while senior catcher Cole Fowler also had two RBIs.
Wingate’s Hunter Hamilton fell to 1-2 after taking a loss.
Wingate 1, LRU 0
The Bulldogs’ Bradley Brown broke a scoreless tie with a walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Wingate’s Austin Turgeon (3-2) threw a three-hit shutout to go along with six strikeouts and out-dueled LRU sophomore John Grigg, who also went the distance in addition to striking out seven.
Prior to allowing Wingate’s run, LRU had held the Bulldogs scoreless in 17 consecutive innings.
Beatty had the Bears’ first two-homer game since junior first baseman Alex Reynolds hit two on April 7, 2017, a 10-1 victory over Wingate at Bears Field.
- Reported by LRU Sports Information