MARS HILL, N.C. – Senior outfielder Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.) blasted a grand slam with two outs in the top of the eighth in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, February 21, helping to lead the Limestone University baseball team to a four-game series split with Mars Hill University with a 9-6 decision in the nightcap. The Lions ran away with game three of the series and the first of the day, 17-3.    
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: Mars Hill 17, Limestone 3
Records: Mars Hill (2-2, 2-1), Limestone (2-4, 1-2)
Location: Henderson Field
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Freshman Dylan Shugan (Alpharetta, Ga.) homered and finished with a walk
• Junior Brandon Banks (Rock Hill, S.C.) went 1-of-2 with a homerun
• Freshman Kyle Raynor (Fort Mill, S.C.) scored a run
• Limestone finished with just two base hits, both of those were homeruns
• Graduate starter Marcus Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) was chased after just two-thirds of an inning – he allowed nine runs – all unearned – on six hits to take the loss
• Sophomore Alex Canino (Blythewood, S.C.) tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts
• Limestone pitching issued nine walks in just four innings while the defense had four errors

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
An error to start the game for the Limestone defense put the Lions in business right away as the home team exploded for nine runs right out of the gates. A hit batter, a throwing error by the catcher on a stolen base, and seven base knocks later allowed Mars Hill to send 13 men to the dish in the first for a 9-0 lead.
 
After the Saints went down 1-2-3 in the top of the second, including a pair of first-pitch outs, Mars Hill continued to pile on the runs in the home half. Following a one-out error and a walk, a double to rightfield was followed by a one-out single and a pair of walks as the Lions extend the margin to 12-0 through two.
 
Mars Hill gifted the Saints a run in the third after a fielder's choice by Raynor would come around to score on a soft grounder and a pair of wild pitches. The Blue and Gold just had no answers, however, as the Lions plated five more runs on five walks, two hit batters, and an error in the bottom half to make it 17-1.
 
Banks broke up a no-hit bid in the top of the fifth with a solo homerun before Shugan followed with a solo jack to leftfield, but it was not enough to stop the mercy rule as Mars Hill wrapped up the 17-3 decision.
 
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 9, Mars Hill 6
Records: Limestone (3-4, 2-2), Mars Hill (2-3, 2-2)
Location: Henderson Field
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Cornell went 2-for-5 in the nightcap with a homerun and six RBIs
• Graduate Trace Whetsell (Gilbert, S.C.) sparked the rally for Limestone with a two-run homer
• Raynor posted his first career three-hit game, finishing with a double and two runs scored
• Senior Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.) chipped in a pair of base knocks, including a triple
• Senior Tyler O'Dell (North Hanover, N.J.) added two hits and a stolen base
• Junior Cory Busse (Wonder Lake, Ill.) was solid in his second start, picking up the win after scattering five runs and six hits over seven innings of work – he finished with four strikeouts
• Graduate reliever Trey Jenkins (Durham, N.C.) struck out a pair in two innings of work
• Limestone finished with a 12-7 advantage in hits and scored eighth unanswered runs

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Limestone got off to a quick start in the final game of the series following a one-out single by Evans in the top of the first. Two batters later, he came around to give the Saints a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Cornell. Meanwhile on the mound, Busse worked quickly to retire the first six Lions he faced with two K's.
 
It looked like Busse would work around a leadoff single in the bottom of the third, getting the first out with a lazy fly ball and the second with a strikeout, but Mars Hill would pull ahead, 2-1, with a two-out, two-run homerun. The Lions then homered to lead off the fourth before consecutive singles made it a 4-1 game.   
 
In the top of the fifth, Raynor laced a one-out double into the leftfield alley before Whetsell – hobbled by a foul ball off his foot – blasted a 3-2 delivery over the centerfield wall to cut the Limestone deficit to 4-3. The Saints then had a big opportunity in the sixth but left the bases juiced to keep it a one score game.
 
The Blue and Gold would not let those chances slip by in the late innings, however, as a one-out triple in the seventh by Evans scored to tie things up on an RBI fielder's choice by Cornell. Then with the bases full and two outs in the eighth, junior Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.) was hit to force the go-ahead run across before Cornell cleared the bags with a towering grand slam to left, putting Limestone in front, 9-4.
 
Mars Hill scratched together a single run in the bottom of the eighth following a leadoff double to trim the margin to 9-5, and had the tying run on deck in the ninth after a sacrifice fly closed the gap to three, but Jenkins got the final batter to groundout harmlessly to shortstop to seal the 9-6 decision for the Saints.
 
UP NEXT
 
Limestone returns home to Founders FCU Stadium next weekend as it hosts former Conference Carolinas foe King University for a four-game series on Saturday, February 27, and Sunday, February 28. First pitch of a doubleheader on Saturday is slated for 2 p.m.