Mars Hill, N.C.—North Greenville dropped to 22-12 on Wednesday afternoon after falling to Mars Hill College in 13-10 in non-conference baseball action. The Crusaders and Lions split the season series 1-1 after NGU won the first meeting on February 7^th.

North Greenville opened the scoring in the first inning when Derek Fulmer’s team leading 14^th double scored Adam Taylor. NGU held a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the 2^nd when Mars Hill exploded scoring 9 runs on 8 hits. The Lions hit 3 home runs in the inning including a grand slam.

The Crusaders cut Mars Hill’s lead to 9-3 in the 4^th inning on Andrew Lawrence’s 2 run homer, his first of the season. Mars Hill answered back in the 5^th with 3 runs on just 1 hit. The Lions were aided by an NGU error in the inning.

The Crusaders once again cut into the Lions’ lead in the 6^th, scoring 6 runs on 4 hits. The Crusaders also took advantage of 2 Mars Hill errors. Andrew Lawrence added his 3^rd RBI of the day in the 6^th as the Crusaders cut the Mars Hill lead to 12-9. The Crusaders would cut the lead to 2 after scoring a run in the 8^th, and Mars Hill added a run in the 9^th. The Crusaders failed to score in the 9^th as Mars Hill retired NGU in order.

The Crusaders will return to the diamond on Friday afternoon when they take on Belmont Abbey in a three game Conference Carolinas series. Friday’s tilt will start at 2pm at Ashmore Field. The winner of the series will take control of the West Division.