HobbsDailyReport.com
GREENVILLE, Tenn. – Lenoir-Rhyne University remains alive in the race for a South Atlantic Conference (SAC) baseball tournament bid.
The Bears (22-25, 7-15), after a 4-3 loss in 12 innings at Tusculum on Saturday, battle the Pioneers on Monday at 3 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader to close the regular season.
LRU’S SCHEDULE/RESULTS: https://lrbears.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=200
SAC STANDINGS: https://www.thesac.com/sports/bsb/2018-19/standings
LRU is tied for seventh place with Coker and Anderson, S.C., as they chase the final two bids into the league tournament that begins Thursday in Kodak, Tenn.
Coker has two games at Carson-Newman on Monday while Anderson closes with two games at home against Mars Hill.
Only the top eight teams in the SAC go to the tournament, where Newberry (21-3 in league) will be the top seed.
Tusculum 4, LRU 3, 12 inn. (Saturday)
The Pioneers (28-19, 15-7) won a game that was tied at 2 from the fourth through 12th innings.
LRU had an early 2-0 lead when Will Jones tripled and scored on a single down the line.
Tusculum answered with two runs on a single by Jarel McDade.
The Bears went up 3-2 in the 11th inning when Brock Johnson doubled to left-center.
Tusculum tied it at 3-all with an RBI sacrifice fly, and the Pioneers won on an error in the 12th inning.
Jake Conroy made the start for LRU, working 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two unearned runs, scattered four hits and struck out four.
Reliever Hunter Martin took the loss, striking out three over four innings.
Tusculum reliever Mitch McCain picked up his fifth win of the season, going 1 1/3 innings after replacing Charles Hall, who struck out nine over seven innings.
Jaden Stegall and Nate Montgomery each had two hits for the Pioneers, and Jones had three hits for LRU.
The Bears made three errors.
LRU 12, Limestone 8 (Wednesday)
The Bears scored eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning en route to a home win and their 22nd of the season.
Johnson had a bases-clearing double in the decisive at-bat, when Limestone (15-30) used three pitchers,
Limestone led 8-3 heading into the seventh inning.
Griffin Templeton picked up a win for the Bears (22-24), working one inning, giving up one hit and striking out two.
Benjamin Huber led the Saints, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Chase Allen and Alex Cornell each added two RBIs.
Trey Jenkins took his first loss of the season for Limestone, giving up two runs and one hit in the seventh inning.
The eight-run seventh was the highest-scoring inning all year for the Bears.