GAFFNEY, S.C. - The Lander Baseball team had the tying run on third base in the top of the ninth but couldn't scratch it across as the Bearcats fell to the Limestone Saints, 4-3, on Tuesday evening at Founders FCU Stadium.
Limestone improved to 2-2 while Lander dropped to 1-3.
Taichi Nakao (Auckland, New Zealand) led off the game with a triple and was brought home two batters later on a Connor Droze (Roebuck, S.C.) sacrifice fly to give Lander a 1-0 lead.Â
The Saints tied the game in the third with an RBI single but the Bearcats got the lead right back the next half inning on a wild pitch that allowed
Zach Cowart (Lexington, S.C.) to cross home plate to make it 2-1 in favor of Lander.
However, Limestone grabbed their first lead of the game with a three-run fifth inning that made it 4-2 to the home side.
Lander had their chances late in the game, getting a runner in scoring position in two of the final three innings, including the tying run on third base in the ninth after a Grant Sherrod (Sumner, Wash.) RBI single but a strikeout ended the rally and the game.
The Bearcats hit the road again this weekend as they travel to Mount Olive, N.C. for the first matchup with the Mount Olive Trojans since 2019 and the first three-game series with the Conference Carolinas side since 2018. The series starts with a doubleheader on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 12:00 PM. Game three of the series is set for 1:00 PM on Sunday (Feb. 9).
