Florence, SC – Southern Wesleyan split their double header today.  The Warriors fell in the first game of the day to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 3-0.  They went on to defeat the Mars Hill Lions 6-1 in the second game of the day.

Southern Wesleyan recorded two hits in the loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.  Tanner Glass and DJ Ludwick had the lone hits of the day for the Warriors.  Three Warriors walked during the game.  Southern Wesleyan left seven runners on base during the game.  Rett Wages started game one for the Warriors.  Wages pitched six innings and recorded 10 strikeouts.  Aaron Bennet came in to pitch in relief, collecting three strikeouts during the game.

The Warriors recorded eight hits in the victory over Mars Hill.  Parker Pillsbury and Tanner Glass led the team with two hits apiece.  Both Glass' hits were doubles and Devin Patrick also had a double during the game.  Sawyer Price recorded two of the four walks of the afternoon.  Southern Wesleyan left eight runners on base in the victory.  Glass, Patrick and Kole Rogers each collected two RBIs during the game.  Jarred Jones and TJ McEvilly pitched for the Warriors collecting a combined 15 strikeouts.

Game Vitals

Game One : Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Southern Wesleyan 0

Game Two : Southern Wesleyan 6, Mars Hill 1

Records : Southern Wesleyan (1-1) Lenoir Rhyne (1-0) Mars Hill (0-2)

Coach Gillespie says…

"Good to see our guys battle back and get the win over Mars Hill.  Bats were slow getting started today, but we had some solid AB's in the seventh and eighth innings to get us the win.  Only had to use four pitchers in two games and they stayed within their early season pitch count which is huge.  We pitched really well and for the most part played clean baseball at times."

How It Happened

Game One : SWU vs Lenoir-Rhyne

Southern Wesleyan and Lenoir-Rhyne competed in a pitchers dual during the first five innings of play.  Rett Wages and his defense continued to shut down the Bears offense.  However, despite the strong defense the Bears struck in the bottom of the sixth inning as Pierce hit a solo home run.  Lenoir-Rhyne extended their lead in the seventh inning and went on to win the game 3-0.

Game Two : SWU vs Mars Hill

Mars Hill kept the Warriors off the board until the bottom of the seventh inning.  Parker Pillsbury led off the seventh inning with a single.  Tanner Glass drove Pillsbury in as he doubled to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.  With Glass on second base, Bryson Fowler walked to put two runners on with no outs.  Devin Patrick struck out swinging, but Sawyer Price followed with a walk to load up the bases.  With two outs, Kole Rogers came up to bat and singled to bring both Fowler and Glass home and put Southern Wesleyan on top 3-0.

In the eighth inning, Parker Pillsbury led off with yet another single.  He was followed by another double by Tanner Glass to bring him across home plate.  Bryson Fowler singled to advance Glass to third base.  With runners on the corners, Devin Patrick doubled to right field to bring both Glass and Fowler home to give Southern Wesleyan a 6-0 lead.

The Lions would bring one run in in the top of the ninth inning, but Southern Wesleyan would go on to win the game 6-1.  TJ McEvilly picked up the first win of the season for the Warriors.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will next take on the Francis Marion Patriots on February 2 at 5 p.m.  The Warriors will then travel to take on the Truett-McConnell Bears on February 4.  Southern Wesleyan will then host their home opener on February 7 and 8 as they welcome the Notre Dame Falcons to Dr. C Keith Connor Field.