CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team (15-12, 9-3 SAC) picked up a Saturday sweep over the Mars Hill Lions (11-12, 5-6 SAC) in a conference doubleheader at Tuckaseegee Dream Fields on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. The Royals bounced back to win the series after suffering the series-opening loss on Friday afternoon. With the sweep, Queens has now won four weekend series' this season.
 
Game 1: Queens 10, Mars Hill 3
In game one, eight Royals had a hit on the afternoon. Nick Melton went 2-for-3 in game one, with a double and a triple on the day. Carter Foster added a triple of his own and Garrett Evans smashed his fourth home run of the season in the seventh inning. Justin Offschanka picked up the win for the Royals tossing seven innings, allowing only one earned run on three hits.
 
After the Royals and Lions went scoreless in the first, the Lions got the scoring going with a solo home run over the left field fence. The Royals would add two more in their half of the second, however, which was capped off by a Nick Melton double for his 11^th extra base hit on the season.
 
After retiring the Lions in the third, the Royals offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the third. With a runner on first and two outs, a walk, a double steal, and another walk loaded the bases for the Royals with two outs. On the next at-bat, Dillon Lewis would score on a wild pitch. A walk and a hit-by-pitch and a walk followed, scoring two more runs for the Royals. Carter Foster would then smack a bases-clearing triple into right field, giving the Royals a commanding 8-1 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The Royals and the Lions' defense would clamp down in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, as both teams went scoreless in those three innings combining for just three hits. Mars Hill would go down in order once again in the seventh before the Royals tacked on two more runs in the seventh on a Garrett Evans two-run home run that scored Matt Riley after his lead-off single.
 
The Lions would conjure up a two-out rally in the eighth, as a single and a double put runners on second and third with two outs. The Lions would capitalize on consecutive singles scoring two runs and cutting the Royals deficit to 10-3. The Royals would retire the Lions in order in the ninth, as they capped off their dominant 10-3 win in the first game of the doubleheader.
 
Game 2: Queens 10, Mars Hill 4
 
In game two, the offense maintained their dominance as eight different Royals logged a hit. Mason Pickard, MJ Sasapan, and Riley Cheek had multi-hit performances to lead the way. Cheek and Sasapan both smashed home runs in game two of the doubleheader for the Royals. Tanner Jacobson picked up the win, pitching all seven innings for the second straight outing. The junior allowed three earned runs, on three hits while fanning seven Lions. Jacobson was coming off a complete game shutout over Limestone last weekend in a game which he took a perfect game into the final inning. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native lowered his season ERA to 2.57 across 28.0 innings this season.
 
After putting the Lions down in order in the first, the Royals exploded for five runs in their half of the inning. A Dillon Lewis single scored Riley Cheek, after his lead-off single. With runners on first and second, a single loaded the bases before MJ Sassapan launched a 1-1 pitch over the right-field fence for his first home run of the season.
 
The first batter in the second for the Lions would reach on an error before the following batter would launch a two-run home run to cut the Royals lead to 5-2. In the third, the Lions would get a one-out walk that was followed up by another 2-run home run to cut the Royals lead to just 5-4.
 
In the bottom half of the third, the Royals would put runners on the corners with no outs, after a hit-by-pitch and a single. A Mason Pickard sacrifice fly pushed another run over for the Royals as they responded to four consecutive runs by the Lions.
 
Mars Hill would be retired in order in the fourth. The Royals would threaten in their half of the fourth, loading the bases with one out. However, a double play ended the inning as the game remained 6-4 heading into the fifth.
 
After setting the visitors down quickly, Queens would break open the game in their half of the fifth, scoring three runs. With nobody on and two outs, a Mason Pickard single started the two-out rally for the Royals. Pickard would steal second before a single by Nick Melton advanced Pickard to third. With runners on the corners, Riley Cheek launched a three-run home run over the right-field fence to extend the Royals lead to 10-4.
 
The Royals pitching staff would shut down the Lions the rest of the way, allowing just one hit over the next two innings. Queens would add one more run in the sixth, off a wild pitch, as they cruised to a 10-4 victory that secured the series victory.
 
The Royals will hit the road for a week as they return to action this Tuesday, March 22 as they travel to Mount Olive for a midweek matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Following the action, Queens will stay on the road for a conference clash at No. 13 Newberry next weekend. Be sure to follow the baseball program on Twitter and Instagram. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to stay up to date with all of Royals Athletics.