SMC Extends Winning Streak to Six with Doubleheader Sweep of Montreat

The Spartanburg Methodist College baseball team swept a doubleheader at Montreat, 4-3 (Game 1) and 8-7 (Game 2), to extend its winning streak to six games on Friday.

The Pioneers (25-21, 16-10 AAC), in their final week of the regular season, found the formula for success with strong pitching and disciplined at-bats in the sweep.

In Game 1, SMC used a pair of two-run home runs from Brady Jeffcoat and Lane Schrader to secure the 4-3 win. After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Jeffcoat tied the game with a two-run blast in the third. In the sixth, following Jarian Pinckney's second hit of the day, Schrader delivered a two-run homer to give the Pioneers a 4-2 lead. The Cavaliers trimmed the deficit to one later in the inning on a groundout.

Out of the bullpen, Miles Corcoran retired nine of the final 10 batters to earn the save. SMC starter Hunter Doyle evened his record at 2-2, earning the win with a five-inning outing. Offensively, the Pioneers recorded 10 hits, led by Pinckney's three-hit performance, while Kohen Bridges and Jeffcoat each added two hits.

In the nightcap, the Pioneers erased a 7-0 deficit to claim an 8-7 come-from-behind victory. After cutting the deficit to 7-1 in the fifth inning, SMC plated six runs on five hits to tie the game. One of those hits was Jeffcoat's second two-run home run of the day, which evened the score at 7.

In the seventh, Exizian led off the inning with a solo home run on a full-count pitch, providing the go-ahead run. That proved to be enough, as Nicky White closed the game for his fourth save. Reliever Michael Mapes delivered a strong performance, tossing 3.1 innings of two-hit relief to improve to 4-0.

Offensively, Exizian, Kohen Bridges, Dario Astudillo, and Bryce Satterwhite each recorded two hits in the win.

The two teams will conclude the weekend series with a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.