KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team was unable to hold on to an early lead, falling 8-5 to Mars Hill University in the opener of a three-game South Atlantic Conference series on Friday night at Intimidators Stadium.
 
After the Lions (14-18, 3-12 SAC) claimed a 3-0 lead after two innings of play, the Royals (8-22, 2-11) responded with a four-run third inning to go ahead by one run.
 
Redshirt-junior CJ Hammonds led off the home half of the third inning with a solo home run before redshirt-sophomore Dominic Ford walked and later scored on a Mars Hill error. Queens tied the game at 3-all on an RBI double from freshman Nick Melton. The Royals went ahead after redshirt-junior Chase Hager brought Nelson home from second with an RBI triple, his third three-bagger of the year.
 
Mars Hill answered with four runs of their own in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, limiting the Royals to just one run over the final five innings of action. Lion starter Troy Hall picked up the win after tossing 7.2 innings on the mound, allowing just two earned runs on nine hits and throwing 129 total pitches.
 
Queens starter Lee Harrison (0-4) suffered the loss after giving up seven runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in 3.1 innings on the mound. Freshman reliever Alec Hunter finished the final 5.2 innings in relief, striking out a career-high 10 batters in his eighth appearance of the season.
 
Redshirt-freshman Noah Jones led the offense with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate and scored two runs, while Hammonds was 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season. Melton tallied his team-leading 19^th and 20^th RBIs in the loss.
 
The Royals and Lions conclude their series tomorrow with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.