AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Carson-Newman Eagles baseball team (1-2) split a doubleheader with the Augusta State Jaguars (2-1), losing in the first contest 5-4 while picking up a 10-0 victory in the second game to close out play at Lake Olmstead Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The second game featured a complete game shutout victory for Eagle right-handed starter Quinton Yocom (1-0), who pitched seven innings while only allowing four hits as he struck out five in the first Carson-Newman victory of the season.
In the first game, Carson-Newman led trailed 2-1 before scoring a single run in the seventh, eighth, and ninth to lead 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. The C-N comeback included a solo homer for second baseman Bo Ausmus, as he tied the game at two in the seventh inning. Carson-Newman took the lead in the eighth as a wild pitch scored Cody Fox to put the Eagles ahead 3-2. Carson-Newman's final run came in the ninth when an error by the Augusta State right fielder allowed Trace Rogers to reach base and brought home Phillip Duncan.
Rogers had the only multi-hit game for the Eagles in game one as he went 2-for-5.
The Jaguars rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, with the winning run scoring on a walk-off RBI double for catcher Justin Mee to deliever Augusta State the 5-4 win and a series victory.
Carson-Newman starter Alex Britt was in line for the win after pitching eight innings while striking out eight, walking none, and allowing only two runs on five hits. Ben McKinney (0-1) took the loss giving up three runs on four hits in the ninth, and Evan Faithfull gave up Mee's game-winning double. Augusta State reliever David Bermudez (1-0) earned the win after allowing one unearned run in an inning and two-thirds on the mound.
In the game two win, the Eagles scored 10 runs on 13 hits and committing no errors to finish the series with a 10-0 victory.
The dominant pitching of Yocum was the story, collecting five strikeouts and walking only one as the Jaguars scattered four hits against him. Augusta State starter Jamie Suggs took the loss after giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits during his four innings of work.
The Eagles scored in all but one inning of the seven-inning game, with the major damage coming in the five-run top of the sixth inning. Right fielder Evan Kirkpatrick went 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Ausmus and left fielder Zach Long both drove in two runs.
Catcher Kevin Franchetti collected his first homer of the year with a solo shot in the top of the fifth.
Carson-Newman will continue play on the road facing Pfeiffer on Tuesday Feb. 5 at 2 p.m., followed by a weekend series at USC Aiken from Feb. 8-10 in Aiken, S.C.