JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman baseball team got solid pitching performances in the first game and rallied from an 8-0 deficit in the second to complete a doubleheader sweep over Tusculum Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Complex.
The Eagles (9-6, 4-1 SAC) won by scores of 3-2 in the first game and 10-8 in the night-cap. The two teams will wrap up the weekend series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest.
Game 1: Carson-Newman 3, Tusculum 2
James Denten’s two-run homer in the third inning proved to be the game-winner as Carson-Newman edged Tusculum 3-2 in the series opener.
C-N starter Noah Pridmore (2-1) pitched 5.2 solid innings with nine strikeouts, while Grif Hughes limited the Pioneers to one run and four hits in his three relief frames. Hunter Harritan got the final out of the game, stranding the tying run on base in the ninth for his second save of the year.
Tusculum out-hit the Eagles 9-8 but stranded 11 runners on base.
TU got on the board first in the top of the third inning when Zach Wilson singled home Will Samuelson from third base for the game’s first run.
C-N tied it in the bottom of the third when Spencer Williams doubled down the left field line to bring in Cole Nathan. Williams would score on Denten’s two-run homer to right field as the Eagles led 3-1.
Tusculum mounted a rally in the eighth inning when Murphy Flood reached on a one-out single and moved to third on pinch-hitter Omar Carreras‘ double. Max Schmarder cut the deficit to one with his RBI single to bring in Flood and moved Carreras to third base. But Carreras would be stranded their as the next two batters grounded out as TU trailed 3-2.
In the ninth inning, Hughes got the first two outs of the inning before surrendering a single to shortstop Ben Scartz. Harritan came into face freshman Jake Absher who lined out sharply to right field to end the game.
Zach Wilson and Scartz each recorded a pair of hits for the Pioneers, while Harrison Travis and Nathan both had two-hit performances.
Tusculum starter Luke Absher (1-3) recorded another quality outing, going six innings where he allowed three runs, seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Reliever Seth Willis kept the Pioneers in the game as he tossed a pair of shutout innings with three strikeouts, no walks and allowed one hit.
Game 2: Carson-Newman 10, Tusculum 8
Harrison Travis recorded a pair of hits in a seven-run, sixth inning including his game-winning two-run triple as Carson-Newman rallied from an 8-0 hole to win 10-8 to complete the Saturday sweep.
The Eagles scored three times in the fifth and seven times in the sixth to cap the rally. Harritan closed the door once again and retired the Pioneers (8-9, 4-4) in order in the seventh to post his second save of the day and third of the season.
Tusculum scored three runs in the second, four times in the fourth and added another in the fifth as the Pioneers led 8-0.
The Pioneers got their first three batters on base in the second as Jake Absher led off with a single, moved to second on Flood’s walk and Carreras doubled to left field to bring in Absher with the game’s first run. McCauley reached on an error as Flood scored and Luis Reyes‘ ground out drove in the inning’s third run.
Tusculum tacked on four more runs in the fourth inning including a two-run single by Flood and Carreras’ infield single to make it a 7-0 game. Scartz made it 8-0 with his RBI single.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles loaded the bases with one out against TU starter Brady Salyards. Will Gibbs made it 8-1 with his RBI single and Dalton McLain doubled home two runs to make it an 8-3 contest. Tusculum closer Drew Sliwinski took over and got a fly out and strikeout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Sliwinski would not be able to retire any of the six batters he would face. A Travis single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Ryan Potts hit a two-run single to trim the deficit to 8-5. Gibbs drew a bases loaded walk to make it 8-6 and a wild pitch brought home Potts as C-N trailed 8-7
Caid Sanders took over for Sliwinski and McLain’s ground out drove in Colby Abbott with the tying run. Trey Miller lined out to Schmarder at third base for the second out before Denten drew a walk. Travis followed with a two-run triple to the gap in left field to drive in the go-ahead runs as the Eagles led 10-8.
Wilson, Flood and Carreras each posted two-hit games, while Travis and Potts tallied two-hit outings for the Eagles.
C-N reliever Brock Culpepper (2-3) picked up the victory while Sliwinski (1-2) suffered the loss. Salyards went 4.1 innings for Tusculum, allowing five hits, three runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
