Eagles suffer 3-0 setback to King College

Eagles suffer 3-0 setback to King College

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Right fielder Bryant Walker delivered a leadoff home run in the second inning that proved to be the winning run, as King College defeated the Carson-Newman baseball team, 3-0, on Wednesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.

With the loss, the Eagles drop to 6-11 on the season. The Tornado improve to 9-5 overall.

C-N was unable to generate any offense as it tallied just six hits and left eight runners stranded. Junior Morgan Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) collected two hits, including a double, while Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) and Cody Nix (Cartersville, Ga.) each had a double in the loss.

King College finished with seven hits, including two home runs. Walker finished with two hits, while C.J. Stabler added a double and a solo home run and Jordan Wooullard tallied a pair of hits.

King College starting hurler Danny Laperna (1-1) had a stellar outing on the mound to pick up the win. Laperna surrendered five hits and had two strikeouts in eight innings of work. Tornado reliever Dustin Pannell then gave up one hit and had a strikeout in the ninth inning to earn his third save of the season.

C-N starter Evan Faithful (Hingham, Mass.) was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings on the mound. He also had two strikeouts.

After Walker's solo blast in the second gave King a 1-0 lead, the Eagles were never able to answer. C-N's best shot came in the bottom of the eighth inning as it loaded the bases. However, Laperna got out of the inning unscathed to preserve the win.

The Eagles return to action this weekend with a three-game series at home against rival Tusculum College. The teams will play a single game on Friday at 2 p.m. before closing out the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m.