CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lander baseball team won its third straight game after a home run from senior Ward Betts in the eighth helped the Bearcats secure a 6-4 win against Queens on Sunday.

Lander moves to 3-0 overall while Queens falls to 1-2 on the season.

The Bearcats had their offense rolling through the first four innings, with a run coming across in each frame. 

Not wasting much time, sophomore Landon Dupert got things rolling for the Blue and Gold with a double out to right field to score senior Roury Glanton from second. In the second, the Bearcats took advantage of an error by Queen's first basemen that allowed the second Bearcat run to come home.

Lander continued to increase its lead in the third. After Glanton slapped a triple down the right field line, grad student Mike Fitschen sent a pitch out to center to score Glanton. The fourth was once again kind to the Bearcats, with freshman Matthew Burgess singling out to left field to score another run, giving Lander a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the inning.

Queens however would finally see their offense come to life in the bottom of the inning, with the Royals platting two runs to cut the lead in half. The Royals tacked on one more in the fifth to make it a 4-3 game before Lander would respond with a single from redshirt junior Bradley Davis to score Betts from second in the top of the sixth.

An error committed by the Bearcats allowed a single run to score for the Royals in the bottom of the inning kept the home side within one run of tying things up.

A scoreless seventh for both sides gave way to Betts' home run to right field to give Lander a two-run cushion. The Royals would only see no success in the bottom of the eighth or ninth, seeing six consecutive hitters fail to reach base.

Junior Carson Schlegel earned the victory in his first start of the season. The veteran righty went six innings deep, picking up six strikeouts while allowing four runs with three being earned on eight hits. Redshirt senior Praise Thorsen picked up his first save of the season, as he delt three innings of work, striking out five and only giving up one hit.

The Bearcats return to Dolny Stadium on February 13 as they host Claflin for a doubleheader

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball