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HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne pounded out 12 hits and scored 10 times behind South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year Thomas St. Clair and the Bears cruised to a 10-2 upset victory over the 21
st-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team on Wednesday evening in Hickory.
The setback snapped a school record 14-game win streak for the Braves (35-12) who had not tasted defeat since a 9-8 loss at Georgia Southwestern on April 1. The victory stopped a seven-game skid for the Bears (22-26) who officially closed the door on their 2017 campaign with the result as well. L-R did not qualify for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament which gets underway on Wednesday in Kodak, Tenn.
The loss also signaled the end of the non-conference portion of the 2017 schedule for the Black & Gold who finished with a 22-4 clip outside of Peach Belt Conference play.
Nick Debo (1-for-4) doubled in a run and eventually scored in the second to pace the UNCP offense, while
Ethan Baucom (2-for-4) turned in the Black & Gold's only multi-hit showing of the night. Marcus Shoemaker smacked three doubles and drove in a pair of runs on a 3-for-5 night at the plate to pace the Bears.
Lenoir-Rhyne used a majority of its weekend pitching rotation to hold the Braves to just six hits in the contest. St. Clair (10-4) picked up the victory after striking out five and allowing just four hits and a pair of earned runs in 5-2/3 innings from the hill. Saturday starter Landon Whitson, as well as go-to relievers John Curtis and Tad Ratliff, saw action from the mound as well.
The Braves lit up the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the top of the second, but Lenoir-Rhyne utilized a pair of fielding errors by the visitors in the home half of the inning and plated four runs to turn the momentum back in its direction. A lone score in the third, coupled with five more in the fourth, pushed L-R's advantage out to 10-2.
The Braves will close out their regular season schedule this weekend when they head to Savannah, Ga., to take on Peach Belt Conference rival Armstrong State (22-23, 5-16 PBC) in a three-game series at Pirate Field. The squads will open up the set with a 3 p.m. contest on Friday afternoon.
