Pioneers Salvage Doubleheader Split with Reinhardt
Reinhardt and Spartanburg Methodist College split a baseball doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The visiting Eagles took game one, 12-8, to secure the series, while the Pioneers claimed a 6-4 win in the nightcap.
SMC (6-6, 1-2 AAC) opened the doubleheader with an early 1-0 lead when Jarian Pinckney hit the first pitch from Reinhardt starter Ty Pangborn over the fence. The Eagles tied the game in the second inning and took their first lead of the day with a run in the fourth. The Pioneers responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain the advantage.
Reinhardt (5-10, 2-4 AAC) answered in a big way, scoring six runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away. SMC added a run in the seventh and four in the eighth to cut into the deficit.
The Pioneers finished with 13 hits, outhitting the Eagles in the loss. Blake Exizian and Dario Astudillo each recorded three hits, while the top five hitters in the SMC lineup accounted for 12 of the team's 13 hits. Pinckney, Matt Smith, and Elijah Franz added two hits apiece. Astudillo drove in three runs, and Pinckney added two RBI.
The Eagles spread their 12 hits throughout the lineup, as Carson Dorsey and Louis Dion led the visitors with three hits each. Dorsey drove in four runs, and Dion added three RBI in the win.
Reinhardt reliever Ryan Mahoney earned the win, tossing three innings in relief of Pangborn. He allowed four hits and one run while striking out two. Austin Pruett pitched a scoreless ninth to record the save.
In game two, the Pioneers scored six runs on nine hits, led by two hits each from Exizian, Tanner Martin, and Pinckney, who also drove in three runs. Reinhardt was limited to five hits, with Cedric Cullars collecting two and driving in two runs.
Trailing 3-0 after an inning and a half, SMC scored four runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Martin delivered an RBI double, Kohen Bridges added an RBI double, and Pinckney followed with a two-RBI single to put the Pioneers ahead, 4-3.
An RBI single by Pinckney in the fourth extended the lead to 5-3, and a sacrifice fly by Lane Schrader in the fifth made it 6-3 before Reinhardt added a run in the seventh.
SMC starter Greyson Wild pitched three innings and struck out three in a no-decision. Miles Corcoran followed with four innings of relief, striking out five to earn the win.
SMC returns to action next weekend, hosting Johnson University for a three-game series. The series opens with a single game on Friday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. and concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 28 at noon.
























































