Plouffe records six RBI versus Lenoir-Rhyne

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill baseball team (16-21, 4-15 SAC) was swept in Saturday's doubleheader versus Lenoir-Rhyne (19-21, 6-11 SAC) at Henderson Field by scores of 13-8 and 16-4.

GAME ONE: L-R 13, MHU 8

The Bears used a nine-run third inning to propel them to their 13-8 game one victory.

Leading 4-2, a grand slam by Alex Reynolds extended the Lenoir-Rhyne lead to six.  E.J. Ranel and Grant Fuller each recorded RBI doubles while Matthew Freeman, Clayton Jefferies and Reynolds all added RBI singles in the frame.

Mars Hill clawed back into the contest beginning in the eighth inning.  Adam Plouffe's RBI single plated Matt Honeycutt.  In the bottom of the ninth, both Cal Hubbard and Plouffe drove in two runs apiece off of singles to bring Mars Hill within five.

With the bases loaded in the first inning, a sacrifice bunt by Zack Shoemaker plated Fuller to give the Bears the 1-0 lead.  A single up the middle from Will Jones cleared the bases as Jefferies and Freeman scored.

The Lions cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second as Austin Treadway's RBI triple scored Scottie Lee.  Treadway was brought home by Plouffe's first RBI single on the day.

Reynolds led all players with five RBI while Jones led the Bears with three hits.  Plouffe paced the Lions' offense with three hits and four RBI.  Treadway also notched three hits in the game.

GAME TWO: L-R 16, MHU 4

Lenoir-Rhyne's offense rolled over into the second game as the Bears put up 16 against Mars Hill to clinch the series win and sweep of the day.

In the top of the first, a three-run home run from Austin Reed put the Bears up early.  Matthew Freeman's RBI double down the left field line plated E.J. Ranel in the top of the third.  Freeman was plated off of a Clayton Jefferies' RBI single later in the frame.

The Bears added four more runs to their lead in the fourth, highlighted by Reed's two-run single.

Trailing 10-0, solo home runs by Daniel Vitello and Scottie Lee cut into the Bears' lead and broke the shutout bid.

After adding two more runs in the fifth, Lenoir-Rhyne tacked on another four runs in the sixth, led by Jefferies' two-run single to put them up by 14 runs.

Adam Plouffe drilled a two-run home run to center field that scored Lee for their fourth and final run of the game.

Jefferies and Reed each recorded five RBI in the game while Reed and Ranel led all players with three hits apiece.  Plouffe led the Lions with two RBI and, along with Jordan Lathe, led the team with two hits.

Mars Hill wraps up the series versus Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday, April 7th at Henderson Field.  First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.