HICKORY, North Carolina - The WVU Tech (0-3) baseball team dropped their first series of the season, 0-3, to NCAA DII foe Lenoir-Rhyne University (6-0) this weekend in Hickory, North Carolina. The Golden Bears fell to Lenoir-Rhyne 9-2 and 10-6 Saturday before suffering an 11-6 loss Sunday.

GAME 1 - WVU TECH 2, LENOIR-RHYNE 9 (SATURDAY)
Tech scored their two runs off a junior Dylan Harvey homerun. Harvey's long ball drove in fellow classmate Hugo Rodriguez for a double RBI. Rodriguez had singled during his time at bat just before Harvey.

Rodriguez was the only Golden Bear to steal a base, while also posting two singles and scoring a run. Harvey finished the game with two RBI, a homerun and one run scored. Sophomore Trevor Lam and junior Doug Prather were the other two to record hits for Tech, including a double from Prather in the top of the third inning.

Junior Josh Hudson (0-1) scattered six hits in two innings of work with two strikeouts and five earned runs for the loss. Junior Tommy Weaver saw action on the mound for four innings, giving up one earned run while striking out two. Finishing out the game, senior Zack Thomas faced seven batters to post one strikeout and one hit.

GAME 2 - WVU TECH 6, LENOIR-RHYNE 10 (SATURDAY)
The Gold and Blue had a big fifth inning after being down 5-0, scoring five of their own runs off of two singles and a Bears' error. Freshman Cody Miller earned the double RBI with a single driving senior Austin Lucas and junior Xavier Barriere in, taking the score to 5-2. Harvey then drove the ball to right field for the single, scoring senior Zach Maynard and Miller. Rodriguez then crossed the plate on an unearned run due to a throwing error by their opponent to knot the score 5-5.

Lenoir-Rhyne held Tech to those five runs until the top of the final inning, Harvey singled to left field this time to earn an RBI when Miller scored a run, giving a final score of 10-6.

Sophomore Austin Southcott drew the start on the mound, giving up three earned runs on nine hits and a strikeout. Senior Craig Johnson (0-1) was given the loss after 1.1 innings of work, four hits, one earned run and a walk.

GAME 3 - WVU TECH 6, LENOIR-RHYNE 11 (SUNDAY)
In the series finale, Lenoir-Rhyne struck early as the Bears scored all 11 runs before Tech got on the board. The Golden Bears scored three runs each during the eighth and ninth innings.

Rodriguez picked up a quick three RBI with a homerun to left field in the top of the eighth, crossing sophomore Heath Utterback and junior Carlos Diaz for the scores. Weaver knocked a double to bring in Harvey in the ninth and Diaz earned an RBI on a sacrifice to drive in junior John Baird and advancing Weaver. Weaver crossed the plate on a wild pitch for Tech's final score of the series.

Sophomore Jayson Sykora (0-1) gave up two earned runs on three hits in three innings of work with five strikeouts for the loss.

WVU Tech will return to the field when they travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina next weekend, February 14-15 to face the University of Pikeville in a three-game series.