HARROGATE, Tenn. — Brady Salyards pitched seven shutout innings in the first game and Murphy Flood hit the game-winning, seventh inning home run in the night-cap as Tusculum swept a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Lincoln Memorial Saturday.
The Pioneers (17-13, 12-6 SAC) won by scores of 9-1 and 5-4 to win the weekend series two games to one and move into sole possession of third place in the conference standings. Tusculum will host second place Wingate in a three-game series next weekend at Pioneer Park.
In Saturday’s sweep over the Railsplitters (19-10, 11-7 SAC), Tusculum recorded 10 hits in each game as Flood went 5-for-9 on the day while scoring four runs and posting four RBI.
Game 1: Tusculum 9, Lincoln Memorial 1
Salyards tossed seven shutout innings and recorded five strikeouts as Tusculum won Saturday’s opener, 9-1.
Salyards (3-1) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before surrendering a lead-off single to LMU’s Kasten Harvey.
Meanwhile, Tusculum got all of its run production in two innings; six runs in the second inning and three more in the seventh.
Twelve batters went to the plate for the Pioneers in the second frame as Tusculum used three hits, three walks, two hit batsmen and a LMU error to take a 6-0 lead. Flood provided the big hit of the frame with his two-run single, while Ben Scartz had a RBI hit.
In the seventh, nine Pioneers went to bat as three scored thanks to one single and five of TU’s 11 walks in the game.
In Salyards’ 102-pitch performance, he allowed two hits, four walks in the 28 batters he faced.
Game 2: Tusculum 5, Lincoln Memorial 4
Flood broke a 4-4 tie with his solo homer to start the seventh inning as the Pioneers prevailed 5-4.
Flood went 2-for-4 in the contest, while Scartz and Omar Carreras also had two-hit outings.
Tusculum went ahead 3-0 to start the contest as the Pioneers scored two runs in the first and an unearned run in the second. Scartz and Flood reached on one-out singles and both would score on RBI hits from Jake Absher and Carreras.
Trailing 3-0, LMU chipped away at the deficit, scoring one run in the second and got solo home runs from Sam Mast in the fourth inning and Carson Boles to lead-off the fifth as the Railsplitters tied the game at 3-3.
Tusculum regained the lead in the sixth inning when Zach Wilson led off with a hit, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Will Samuelson‘s RBI single.
Lincoln Memorial tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as Alex Kowalski hit a one-out single, moved to second when Harvey was hit by a pitch and scored on Boles RBI single.
TU closer Seth Willis shut down the LMU threat by posting back-to-back strikeouts and send the game to the seventh tied.
Flood led off the seventh and sent reliever David Ellison’s first offering over the left field wall to put the Pioneers back in front, 5-4.
In the bottom of the seventh, Willis struck out the first two batters and got a gem of a defensive play by shortstop Ben Scartz to end the game.
Willis (3-1) went 1 2/3 innings, allowed one hit, zero walks and recorded four consecutive strikeouts to record the victory.
Scartz ended a streak in the first game as he struck out for the first time in 14 games ending a remarkable run of 14 straight games and 66 consecutive plate appearances without being fanned. He has only struck out three times in his 134 plate appearances this season, which are the fewest in the nation.
Tusculum begins a five-game home-stand on Tuesday when they host Lee University at 6 p.m.
