MARS HILL, N.C. --- Zane Keener recorded six hits on the day including his game-winning home run in the opener as Tusculum University split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Mars Hill University Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
Keener went 3-for-6 in the opener including his solo homer in the top of the ninth inning as Tusculum prevailed 8-7. In the second game, Mars Hill raced out to a 7-0 lead but had to get a Zach Weaver walk-off homer in the eighth as the Lions won 10-9.
The rubber-match of the weekend series will be played on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Tusculum 8, Mars Hill 7
Tusculum's Ben Scartz went 4-for-6 and reliever Jacob Willett retired the final five batters of the game as the Pioneers captured the series lid-lifter, 8-7.
Tusculum and Mars Hill combined for 27 hits in the game (MHU 14, TU 13), but left a combined 31 runners on base (MHU 17, TU 14).
The Pioneers struck first with a run in the second inning as Wes Reynolds doubled and score on Dylan Symonds two-out single for a 1-0 lead.
The Lions answered with three runs in the bottom of the third including RBI double from Alex Naran as MHU led 3-1.
TU responded with a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth frame to take a 6-3 advantage. Scartz had a RBI single in the fourth and 10 Pioneers went to the plate in the fifth, including a two-run single off the bat of Symonds.
Mars Hill scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, but TU got the run back in the seventh as Tyler Ranel hit his third triple of the year and scored on Keener's ground out.
Zach Weaver belted a two-run homer in the seventh and pinch-hitter Silas Isenhour tied the game at 7-7 with his RBI single in the eighth.
In the ninth, with Sam Kaplan on in relief, Keener pulled a pitch down which hugged the right-field line and over the fence for his third homer of the season and an 8-7 Tusculum lead.
Willett, who came on in the eighth, retired the side in order to record his third win of the season.
MHU's Jordan Lathe led the Lions with his 4-for-6 performance which included a pair of doubles.
Tusculum also had multiple-hit games from Ranel and Symonds in the victory.
Game 2: Mars Hill 10, Tusculum 9 (8 inn.)
Weaver hit his second home run of the afternoon as he lifted a blast to center field for a 10-9 walk-off win in the eighth inning of the night-cap. Weaver went 2-for-3 with three runs scored with his lone RBI coming on his 10th homer of the season.
In the early part of the game, it was a pitchers' duel between MHU starter Dustin Revis and his TU counterpart Seth Willis as the duo blanked the opposition through the first three innings.
Mars Hill punched through in the fourth as the Lions drew three walks to start the inning and Tyler Sellers drove in the first run of the game with his single. Connell followed with his grand slam to center to make it a 5-0 game. Alex Naran was hit by a pitch and that ended the day for Willis. Reliever Sam Bonilla came aboard and after a walk to Chad Sikes, he retired the next three batters including back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
Mars Hill added two more runs in the fifth to make it a 7-0 contest.
The Pioneers came to life in the sixth, scoring six times, highlighted by a three-run homer from Will Samuelson to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Mars Hill got two runs back in the bottom of the frame on Jordan Lathe's two-run single to extend the lead to 9-6.
Tusculum tied the game with three runs in the top of the seventh. Keener led off with a single and moved to second when Scartz was hit by a pitch. MHU reliever Jake Wagoner came aboard and got a strikeout, before giving up back-to-back RBI singles to Murphy Flood and Darien Farley. Wes Reynolds reached on an error to score Flood with the tying run. But Wagoner ended the inning on a double play to keep the game tied at 9-9.
Willett, who was seeing his second relief appearance of the day, worked around a two-out walk in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, TU pinch-hitter Luis Reyes legged out an infield single, but he would be stranded on base as Wagoner recorded back-to-back strikeouts.
In the bottom of the eighth with one out, Weaver hit his game-winning homer to give the Lions a 10-9 victory.
The Pioneers finished the game with 10 hits as Keener had his second 3-hit game of the day, while catcher Blaze McCauley went 2-for-4.
Wagoner (3-2) picked up the victory as he went 2.0 innings, allowed an unearned run on three hits and posted three strikeouts. Willett (3-1) suffered his first setback of 2023 as he went 2.1 innings, allowed a run on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
Tusculum moves to 18-8 on the season and 8-3 in SAC play. Mars Hill goes to 6-22 on the year and 3-8 in league action.
