The Louisburg Hurricanes got their single loss of the weekend out of the way early when they dropped the opener to the visiting USC Lancaster Lancers, 8-3, on Saturday. They then went on to sweep USC Lancaster over the next three games.

By taking 3-of-4, the Hurricanes moved to 28-20 and 11-11 in Region X, while the Lancers dropped to 20-21 and 6-14 in Region X. With the wins, the Hurricanes keep the possibility of a 30-win regular season campaign open with two remaining regular season dates on the calendar.

April 21, Game 1 (USC Lancaster 8 – Louisburg College 3) (Seven Innings)

The Lancers had their biggest day of the series at the plate, scoring twice in the fourth and tacking on six in the fifth for the 8-3 win.

At the plate, Louisburg managed eight hits, with second baseman Sergio Burgos leading all Hurricanes with two hits and an RBI. Shortstop Brian Kahn and DH Josh Baker had the other two RBIs for the visitors.

Tyler Fox (1-0) got the win on the hill for the host Lancers by going five innings, yielding seven hits, and giving up three earned runs. Brock Robinson came on in relief for USC Lancaster in a non-save situation and allowed just one hit over the final two innings.

Kevin Westlake started the game for Louisburg, and gave up seven runs – four of them earned – and took the loss to drop to 4-4 on the season. The sophomore struck out seven USC Lancaster and on the season the lefthander from Greensboro, North Carolina now has 59 on the year. He leads the Hurricanes' staff with 52.2 innings pitched.

April 21, Game 2 (Louisburg College 15 – Louisburg College 5) (Five Innings)

The Hurricanes scored early and often to finish the second game of Saturday's doubleheader in just five innings. Payton Rice benefited from more than ample run support to move his season mark to 7-3. The righty struck out seven and his seven wins are tops on the Louisburg staff this year.

Leading the 15-run outburst for the Hurricanes was DH Josh Baker. Baker, hitting in the #2 spot, went to 2-for-4, and hit two home runs to drive in five for Louisburg. He now has nine on the season. Zacchaeus Rasberry homered and drove in two at the top of the order to set the tone for the Hurricanes' lineup. Catcher Derek Neal had two hits and homered for the Hurricanes and drove in a run.

Left fielder Justin Oakley and third baseman Trey Hicks added home runs for Louisburg. The 'Canes were active on the base paths as well, with Hicks, Brian Kahn, and Sergio Burgos registering steals. Louisburg catcher Darius Holeman held the Lancers to one stolen base.

April 22, Game 1 (Louisburg College 4 – USC Lancaster 1) (Seven Innings)

Four runs proved decisive in an otherwise high-scoring series as Rasberry doubled and homered and drove in a run to pace the Hurricanes from the leadoff spot. Third baseman Trey Hicks and right fielder Justin Oakley also had two hits.

Jason Parker shut down the Lancers over seven innings and struck out six batters for the complete game win in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. He moved to 6-3 on the season.  

April 22, Game 2 (Louisburg College 13 – Louisburg College 2) (Five Innings)

The Hurricanes notched the series win in convincing style as they scored thirteen runs in five innings for the 13-2 victory. Tucker Rogers took the hill for Louisburg and evened his season record at 4-4 while fanning six batters in just four innings of work.

Sophomore Stephen Cook, a transfer from Division I University of Maryland – Eastern Shore (UMES), worked the fifth and struck out one Lancer while allowing a hit.

At the plate, the Louisburg bats returned to life and they scored 13 times in five innings to end the game early due to the run differential. Rasberry continued an outstanding series by hitting two home runs in Sunday's nightcap. He had four home runs in the series and drove in three runs on the afternoon.

Louisburg benefited from five fielding errors by the Lancers, while not committing an error in the field to back Rogers.

Hurricanes Notes: Louisburg's 2018 season is shaping up as one of its best in recent years.

• The three wins gave Louisburg eight wins in the month of April, with a chance to make it nine this week. The wins total matches their regular season total from last year, when they went 26-24 on the season and fell in the first round of the Region X playoffs to USC Sumter.

• As alluded to earlier, with two games remaining Louisburg has a shot at a 30-win regular season and their 11 conference wins to date top last year's total of eight and the six they tallied in 2016. In 2015, the Hurricanes notched seven conference victories.

• The teams 61 round-trippers this season is good for 18th in the NJCAA's Division I. This weekend, the Hurricanes moved their On-Base-Percentage to an even .400 on the year. They've compiled 437 hits and 176 walks YTD.

• Vinny Bailey leads Louisburg with 15 home runs on the season. After the weekend, Rasberry is close behind with 13. Josh Baker leads the team with three triples, and Derek Neal is tops on the team with 18 doubles.

• Louisburg has 111 steals in 2018, good for 11th in the country, its highest team ranking in any category.

• On the mound, the Louisburg staff is 28th in the country with 377 strikeouts, good for 10.1 strikeouts per nine IP. That rate is also good for 28th in the country. As a staff, the Hurricanes sport a 4.45 ERA, while walking just 142 batters on the season.  

Next Up: The Hurricanes have two regular season games left on the calendar as they host Brunswick Community College on April 25 and travel to face Lenoir Community College on May 1.

Pictured: Vinny Bailey

Photo Credit: Fieldhouse Media