EMORY, Va. — For a second straight outing, Murphy Flood came through with the game-winning hit to lead the Tusculum University baseball team to a 10-7 non-conference win at Emory & Henry College Tuesday afternoon at Porterfield-DeVault Field.
Tusculum (23-19) avenges last month’s home loss to the Wasps (8-34) in Greeneville. The Pioneers will be at home on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when they have a rematch against nationally-ranked Young Harris College.
The Pioneers posted 15 hits on the afternoon including three doubles while leaving a dozen runners on base. Emory & Henry recorded six hits, committed three errors and left one runner aboard.
Flood went 4-for-5 with two RBI in Tuesday’s game including his two-out, RBI single in the seventh inning to break a 7-7 tie. Flood had the game-winning hit on Sunday against UVA Wise including his walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as TU rallied to a 9-7 victory.
Flood scored three runs and posted a double as he has hit safely in 20 of his last 21 outings.
Omar Carreras went 3-for-5 with four RBI including his two-run single in the top of the ninth to provide some insurance in the final frame. Will Samuelson accounted for a pair of hits and three RBI, while Blaze McCauley finished with two hits in the victory.
Senior reliever Jake McKenna (2-0) picked up the victory as he went three innings, allowed three runs, one hit, two walks and recorded a career-high eight strikeouts. Cole Forcellina took over in the seventh and retired nine straight batters to close out the game and secure his first save of the year.
Tusculum jumped out to a 4-0 lead after sending eight batters to the plate in the first inning. TU got RBI doubles from Flood and Darien Farley and took advantage of two E&H errors.
The Wasps answered with four runs of their own in the second inning, which included a two-run double from Khadeem Lewis and a two-run homer by Triston Hensley.
The Pioneers responded with a run in the third and two more in the fourth to go up 7-4. The Pioneers loaded the bases with no outs to start the third and Samuelson drew a RBI walk as TU led 5-4. But reliever Nick Cerrato got out of the jam with a strikeout and a pair of ground outs.
TU plated two runs in the fourth thanks to RBI singles from Carreras and Samuelson.
McKenna struck out the first two batters to start the fifth inning, but a pair of walks and a three-run homer off the bat of Garrison Bullock knotted the game for a second time at 7-7.
Tusculum had a chance to take the lead in the sixth when Flood singled and moved to third on Carreras’ double with one out. But the Wasps got a strikeout and fly out to end the threat.
In the seventh, the Pioneers loaded the bases with one out Farley walked, while McCauley and Kayl Ratliff hit back-to-back singles. Tusculum would hit into a fielder’s choice with Farley being forced out at home. With two outs, Flood reached on an infield single as McCauley scored with the go-ahead run.
TU loaded the bases in the top of the ninth as McCauley singled, Reyes legged out an infield hit and Flood drew a walk to load the bases again. Carreras would tack on two-insurance runs with a single to left as the Pioneers went up 10-7 and Forcellina retired the Wasps in order to close out the game.
