GAFFNEY, S.C. – No. 24 Limestone College scored seven runs in the sixth inning, all after two were out, and went on to beat the Lander Bearcats 10-3 Sunday afternoon at Bob Prevatte Field.
Limestone improved to 3-3 on the season while the Bearcats fell to 3-4.
After Lander's Todd Hughson no-hit the Saints on Friday in Greenwood, Limestone came back to beat the Bearcats 9-8 with a walk-off rally on Saturday in Gaffney, and won more easily on Sunday.
This was Lander's first lopsided game of the season as five of its first six games were decided by one run, and the other was an extra inning game decided by two runs.
The Bearcats scored single runs in the fourth, sixth and ninth innings.
Erik Lunde led off Lander's half of the fourth with a single to right, stopped at second when Jordan Owens reached on an infield single, and the runners moved up on Weston Lawing's sacrifice bunt. Lunde scored on Colby Painter's sacrifice fly to center field.
Painter walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Juan Montana's RBI single up the middle in the sixth. That run pulled the Bearcats within 3-2. But Limestone scored seven in its half of the sixth.
Lander's final run came in the ninth when pinch hitter Tyler Wilson singled to right, moved to second on AJ Nunziato's single to left, and scored on Chris Hyatt's RBI single up the middle.
The Saints took a 2-0 lead in the third when Chad Balderman singled and Josh Lyon hit his second home run of the series, a two-run blast. Balderman added an RBI single in the fourth.
Limestone blew it open in the sixth with Balderman's two-out, two-run double getting the rally started. A dropped fly ball by the first baseman allowed the Saints to score their third run of the inning, keeping the rally alive. Lyon and Al Benson followed with run-scoring doubles, Casey Seay added an RBI single, and Michael Hughey hit an RBI double.
Nunziato paced the Bearcats with two hits in four at-bats. Jacob Tisdale had Lander's only extra-base hit, a pinch-hit double with two outs in the eighth.
Balderman led the Saints, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. Lyon went 2-for-5 with a home run, double, two runs and three RBI, while Zach Howard and Hughey had two hits apiece.
Corey Hopper (0-1) was the losing pitcher for Lander, allowing five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings, including six strikeouts and two walks. Reliever Ben Runyon recorded no outs and allowed five runs on four hits but was victimized by the dropped fly ball, and none of his runs were earned.
Michael White pitched 1.1 innings of shutout relief for the Bearcats while Ches Courtney tossed one hitless inning.
Jeremy Peed (2-0) got the win for Limestone, allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings of work, striking out six and walking three.
