Armstrong strong arms Anderson, Eagles secure SAC tournament berth

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-22, 13-12 South Atlantic Conference) starting pitcher Chris Armstrong (Blaine, Tenn.) fanned seven in 8.1 innings to help push the Eagles to a 6-2 win Friday afternoon over Anderson (15-32, 7-19 SAC) at the Silver Diamond baseball complex.

Armstrong moves to 6-5 with the win and picked up his sixth game with at least seven Ks. 

"I got behind and they hit some balls hard, but the infield was right there and the outfield did a good job tracking some balls down," Armstrong said. "The offense giving us that six-run lead made things a lot easier."

Carson-Newman jumped on Anderson early, scoring two in the first, one in the third and three in the fourth before cruising to the win. 

The Eagles struck first when Evan Jurjevic (New Carlisle, Ind.) doubled down the left field line to score Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.).  A Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) groundball to short plated Jurjevic to give the Eagles a lead they wouldn't relinquish. 

In the third, Ausmus singled through the left side then stole second to set up an RBI opportunity for Zach Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.).  On his senior day, Long cranked his team best 23^rd double of the last two years to left to bring in Ausmus. 

Carson-Newman started the fourth with three straight singles, including one from Jurjevic that had him dancing between first and second to draw the Anderson defense's attention away from a runner at third.  The tactic worked and Jurjevic earned himself a pair of RBI as a result.  Later in the inning, Kevin Franchetti (Highland, Tenn.) singled through the left side to score Ausmus. 

"It's just been going well for us as a team," Jurjevic said. "We've been hitting the ball on all cylinders lately and putting it in play whether we've had two strikes or been ahead in the count."

Jurjevic was two-for-four with three RBI for the day.

Armstrong carried a no-no into the fourth when Erick Sanderson singled.  The Trojans wouldn't dent the scoreboard until the seventh on an RBI groundout to third from Paul Como. AU would add one more in the ninth when Nathan Galliford drove in another run on a groundout to short. 

Ryan Fillers (Greeneville, Tenn.) pitched two-thirds of an inning of relief.  The appearance was the 84th of his career.  That mark ties him for the most ever in C-N baseball history with Corbin Ariail (2005-08). 

The Eagles conclude the series with the Trojans Saturday with a doubleheader at noon.  Coverage is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network online at cneagles.com/live.

-CN-