GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Sean Finucane went 3-for-4 with six RBI, including a grand slam in Tusculum's 12-5 win over arch-rival Carson-Newman Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Park in South Atlantic Conference baseball action.
Tusculum (10-12, 4-8 SAC) used a seven-run, sixth inning, while
Taylor Rakes pitched his first complete game of the season and his
second of his collegiate career as the Pioneers salvage a win in
the three-game weekend series and snap the Eagles' (13-7, 6-3 SAC)
nine-game winning streak.
TC pounded out 11 hits in the victory, including three hits by
Finucane and two hits each by Jared Richmond, Nate Grabowski and
Tyler Collins.
The Eagles were led offensively by Tyler Davis and Evan Patterson
as they accounted for two hits each in the loss.
Tusculum plated three runs in the first inning as the Pioneers used
four hits and a bases-loaded walk off of C-N starter Wes McIntyre.
Finucane drove in Richmond with the first run of the game with his
single to right field. Paul Finger drew a walk to bring home
Grabowski and Collins countered with a one-out, infield single.
Rakes faced the minimum nine hitters through the first three
innings to maintain the 3-0 lead. McIntyre bounced back and worked
his way out of several jams over the next four innings. TC led off
with doubles in the third and fourth frames, but the Eagles kept
within striking distance getting key strikeouts and a double play
to keep the deficit at 3-0.
C-N scored two runs in the fourth and a run each in the fifth and
sixth innings to take a 4-3 lead. In the fourth, the Eagles scored
two runs with two outs thanks to an error. In the fifth, C-N
mounted a two-out rally as pinch hitter Morgan Gregory drew a walk.
Patterson came aboard to pinch run for Gregory and would tie the
game at 3-3 thanks to a RBI single by Mills Rogers. The Eagles
would take its only lead of the game in the sixth when Jeff
Lockwood reached on an error, moved to third on Wesley Dozier's
single and scored on Jonathan Dalton's ground out.
But in the bottom of the sixth, Tusculum batted around sending 11
players to the plate as TC used four hits and a key C-N error as
the Pioneers scored seven times, with six of those runs being
unearned.
Cotten led off with a single down the left field line and moved to
second on Finger's bunt single. After a strikeout, Brett Mercurio
drew a walk to load the bases. Rolondo Bonner reached on an error
to tie the game at 4-4, scoring Cotten from third. Branfy Arias
drove home the go-ahead run when he reached on a fielder's choice.
Richmond singled and Grabowski drew a walk to load the bases for
Finucane as he belted a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for his
first grand slam of the season and a 10-4 lead.
C-N tallied a run in the seventh as Patterson led off with a triple
and later scored on a ground out. But the Pioneers added two runs
to their tally in the eighth, including a RBI double by Finucane to
put the game out of reach.
Rakes settled in and retired nine of the last 10 batters of the
game to improve to 2-1 on the year. Rakes scattered eight hits,
allowed five runs, two earned, walked two and struck out five as he
totaled 129 pitches on the day.
McIntyre suffered the loss for Carson-Newman as he evens his record
at 1-1.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Anderson
University (S.C.). The Eagles will host Lenoir-Rhyne Friday and
Saturday in South Atlantic Conference action.
- TC -