The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as they were swept by Wingate in a doubleheader, losing game one 9-1 and the night cap, 5-3.

Coming into the series, LR had a very solid doubleheader record with winning 13 out of the 14 contests. But the script did not play in the Bears’ favor as they were shut down by two strong Wingate starters.

In the first game, Wingate’s Mitch Farris threw his first complete game of the season to hold the Bears to three hits while striking out 13 batters. The redshirt junior has now won all seven of his starts this season.

Meanwhile in the second contest, Austin Mitchell picked up his third victory of the year for Wingate. The redshirt senior matched his season-high with six strikeouts and earned his first winning decision for the Bulldogs since Feb. 18.

Tyler McPeak had the hot bat for the Bears, hitting a home run in each contest to bring his total to nine, the second-most on the team. Blake Bean was also able to keep his hitting streak afloat and now has recorded a base hit in the 12 straight games for the Bears.

In game one, the 13 strikeouts the Bears suffered to Wingate was the most strikeouts they were dealt in a single conference game. The Bulldogs scored eight unanswered runs; scored in five consecutive innings which included three-run frames in the fifth and sixth.

LR turned two double plays in the game; the most in a single home game this season. As a team, LR hit a .109 batting average, which ties their worst hitting performance of the season; the 11-0 defeat to Auburn University at Montgomery on Feb. 5.

Joshua Lanham threw his most pitches in a single outing this season – 109 pitches in 5.0 innings pitched. It was a tough time for the LR pitchers to stay consistent as they walked nine Wingate batters; tied with the most in a single game this season.

The same staff combined for six strikeouts, which is the lowest mark for a single home game this season.

In game two, the Bears scored two unanswered runs down the stretch and they did so with small ball tactics with a McPeak sacrifice fly and a Mitchell wild pitch. In addition to Lanham throwing his most pitches in a single game this season, Andrew Patrick threw his season-high with the same number of pitches at 109.

McPeak and Bryce Stober each had multi-hit games with two hits. McPeak went a perfect 2-2 with a home run and single, Stober went 2-3 with a pair of singles. Out of the 16 base hits, eight of them were extra bases. Wingate’s Brett Adams had the most with a pair of doubles.

Despite losing by two runs, the Bears just missed out on scoring opportunities with leaving seven runners on the base paths. The Bears recorded three stolen bases, which is most in a single home game since their three against Cedarville on Feb. 24.

Both teams only used one relief pitcher as Corey Avant went 0.2 innings pitched for the Bulldogs and got the save while Cole Bramhall went 1.0 inning pitched for the Bears.

With LR getting swept, it is the first time that the Bears suffered a doubleheader sweep to Wingate since April 13, 2019. With the LR loss in Game 1, it snaps their nine-game home win streak. After the two contests, the Bears are now 13-4 at home. This is the first time the Bears have lost their first two home conference games of the season since dropping the doubleheader to Catawba in on Feb. 20, 2021.

With the two home losses, Wingate now has a 29-23 record over LR in Hickory, N.C. In their all-time conference meetings, Wingate has a 59-36 record over LR.

The Bears are 22-7 overall, 6-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. LR will return to Durham Field on Sunday, March 19 as they conclude their three-game series against Wingate at 1:00 p.m.