HARTSVILLE, S.C. – In a pair of one-run games, the Carson-Newman Eagles (13-14, 8-10 South Atlantic Conference) and the Coker Cobras (14-9, 7-7 SAC) each won one game in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Tom J. New Field. The visiting team won game one 7-6 in ten innings before falling in walk-off fashion 5-4 in the second game.

"We played hard and got after it all day," head coach Tom Griffin said after the game. "I'm proud of our players and coaches and how they competed today. [Vince] Apicella and [Dustin] Dunagan gave us great starts and we are very encouraged about approach at the plate today."

GAME ONE – Carson-Newman 7  Coker 6, 10 innings

Carson-Newman held a 6-3 advantage after seven and a half innings, but the Eagle bullpen could not hold serve. Outfielder Ernie Kirkwood doubled to center field with one out and advanced to third base on a passed ball. Designated hitter Tyler Bires singled through the left side of the infield to bring home Kirkwood and make it a 6-4 game.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, shortstop Shea Bell singled to center field to start the stanza. After a line out, left fielder Fico Kondla was hit by a pitch. Third basemen T.J. Giczkowski tied the game with a double to left field to tie the score at six. It marks the first time this season that Eagles have played extra innings in a nine inning game.

Junior left fielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) laced a double to right field on the second pitch of extra frames. A fly out to right field by junior right fielder Cody Fox (Seymour, Tenn.) moved Ausmus to third base. Sophomore first basemen Shade Jett (Talbott, Tenn.) brought home Ausmus with a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Eagles a 7-6 edge.

Coker was able to put the tying run and the winning run on base in the last of the tenth, but senior right-hander Lucas Watson (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) struck out Bell to end the ball game as Watson picked up his first victory of the season.

Ausmus racked up his ninth multi-hit game of the season as the outfielder homered in the sixth inning en route to a 2-for-5 day with an RBI and two runs scored.

Eagle starter Dustin Dunagan (Winder, Ga.) tied a career-high with eight strikeouts as the senior worked eight innings allowing seven hits and four earned runs while setting a new career-high with five walks.

GAME TWO – Coker 5  Carson-Newman 4

After falling behind 1-0, the Eagles tied the score in the top of the third inning. Sophomore designated hitter Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) singled to right field with two outs and scored on a wild pitch to make it a 1-1 game.

Carson-Newman exploded for three runs in the fifth inning. Sophomore catcher Gooch Greer (Dickson, Tenn.) lined the first pitch of the stanza into left field for a base hit. After a Tipton single, sophomore third basemen Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Ausmus notched his first triple of the season on a 1-1 pitch that he drove to center field to bring home Greer and Tipton. Ausmus scored on a sacrifice fly by Fox to extend the lead to 4-1.

Sophomore southpaw Vince Apicella (Dillsburg, Pa.) went out in the last of the seventh going for a complete game. The lefty walked the first man he faced. After a ground out, Bell launched a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall to make it a one-run game. Apicella struck out the next batter, but an error by senior second basemen Trace Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.) extended the contest. Griffin brought on senior right-handed pitcher Daniel Sharp (Johnson City, Tenn.) who walked Fondla on four pitches. Giczkowski drove a 1-2 pitch to center field to plate both runs and stun the Eagles with a 5-4 walk-off win.

Tipton went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in a game that saw each of the top three hitters in the Carson-Newman lineup tally a hit.

The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday in the first of a two-game series against Bluefield State in the midweek with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. 

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