WILSON, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (13-10) fell to No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne (24-2), 8-4, Tuesday afternoon in an NCAA Division II game between two regional foes at Nixon Field.
Lenoir-Rhyne designated hitter Matt Mackey (Bradenton, Fla.) broke a one-all tie with the game-winning home run in the top of the fifth inning while freshman outfielder Brayden Collett (Evans, Ga.) added four hits and two runs batted in as the Bears improved to 21-1 over their last 22 games.
Barton sophomore outfielder
Carelle Gonzalez (Bridgeton, N.J.) hit a two-run home run and finished with three hits in the losing effort.
Lenoir-Rhyne totaled 16 hits in the victory and Kanan Butler (Cary, N.C.) (1-0) won for the Bears in relief while senior
Michael Yuille (Boyds, Md.) (3-3) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs.
Barton returns to Conference Carolinas play on Friday, March 18, when the Bulldogs travel to Belmont, N.C., to take on Belmont Abbey beginning at 5:00 p.m. Lenoir-Rhyne, meanwhile, hosts Anderson on Friday at 5:00 p.m., as well.
