VIDEO: Evan Jurjevic Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (14-13, 9-11 South Atlantic Conference) jacked four home runs to defeat the Coker Cobras (8-16, 3-11 SAC) 15-7 and 6-3 in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"The confidence is gaining," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "Guys are having great at-bats. They are being aggressive with the selection of the pitches. All of the things that hitting is all about is happening right now and that's good. They feel good and a lot of hard-hit balls."
Game No. 1 – CARSON-NEWMAN 15, Coker 7
The Eagles scored double-digit runs for the third consecutive game marking the first time since March 18-20, 2010 that a Carson-Newman team scored 10 or more in three straight games as the 2010 group did it in four games in-a-row.
Carson-Newman leadoff batter Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) won a seven-pitch at-bat with a double off of the wall in left-centerfield to begin the home half of the first inning. Tipton moved to third base on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior leftfielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.).
Sophomore catcher Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.) drove the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the second inning over the fence in leftfield for his second home run of the year to make it a 2-0 Eagles lead.
Ausmus was hit by a pitch to begin the bottom of the third inning and moved to third base following a single by senior first basemen Evan Jurjevic (New Carlisle, Ind.) and a fielder's choice. With two outs, senior rightfielder Cody Fox (Seymour, Tenn.) pulled a single passed a diving shortstop to score Ausmus and make it 3-0.
Carson-Newman starting pitcher Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio) had retired seven straight batters when Miguel Frias hammered the eighth pitch of his at-bat over the wall in leftfield to make it a 3-1 contest.
The Eagles scored for the fourth consecutive inning as Ausmus tripled to the rightfield corner to plate Tipton in the bottom of the fourth. A throwing error by Coker third basemen Alex Rodriguez allowed Ausmus to score and extend the lead to 5-1.
The Cobras put up a run in each of the fifth and sixth stanzas before the Eagles exploded offensively. After junior third basemen Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) and Ausmus drew nine-pitch walks, Jurjevic doubled down the leftfield line to bring home Roberts. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, freshman designated hitter Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) clubbed his team-leading fourth roundtripper of the year to put the home team ahead 9-3.
Griffin's group put up six more runs in the bottom of the seventh frame. The first six batters reached base safely to begin the stanza with two-run doubles from Tipton and Ausmus starting the rally. A groundout from Jurjevic and an RBI double from Jones capped the inning to make it 15-3.
Coker plated four runs courtesy of five walks in the top of the ninth inning to close the 15-7 victory.
Yocom improved to 3-2 by working 7.1 innings while allowing three runs, two earned on eight hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Five players notched multi-hit or multi-RBI days for the Eagles. Jurjevic went 3-for-5 with two RBI while Ausmus went 2-for-2 with four RBI and four runs scored. Fox had three hits while Tipton went 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Game No. 2 - CARSON-NEWMAN 6, Coker 3
The Cobras struck first in their first at-bat of the game. With two outs and a runner at third base, Sammy Song slapped a single to rightfield to score Joe Diaz and put the visiting team ahead 1-0.
Roberts drew a one-out walk in the last of the first frame. After Ausmus flew out to right, Jurjevic tattooed his second home run of the season over the leftfield fence on a 1-1 pitch to give the Eagles the advantage at 2-1.
"In that at-bat I was trying to put the ball in play hard looking for an RBI situation," Jurjevic said. "He left one up and I took advantage of it."
In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore second basemen Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) roped a double off of the rightfield wall on the first pitch he saw and scored on a double down the rightfield line by Tipton. With two on and one-out, Ausmus launched his fourth home run of the season to make it a 6-1 Carson-Newman lead.
Coker pulled two runs back in the top of the fifth inning on a two-out, two-run double to leftfield to make it a 6-3 contest.
Carson-Newman starting pitcher Jamie Miller (Wardensville, W.V.) worked 4.2 innings to improve to 3-1 on the year. The junior allowed three runs, two earned on eight hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
Senior righthander Michael Cogliano (Medford, N.J.) earned his first save of the year by retiring all seven batters he faced in the game.
Jurjevic tallied his seventh three-hit game of the year by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
"I think it's just seeing the ball deep," Jurjevic said of his success this year. "I'm thinking middle-to-backside and making hard contact."
Ausmus racked up his 12th multi-hit effort of the year by going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored.
"We communicated well," Griffin said. "We played with energy. We put pressure on people so we played the type of game that we want to play to create that kind of excitement. It was a good day and have another game tomorrow. Guys need to enjoy this. You work hard and the result should be to enjoy games."
The Eagles and Cobras conclude their series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. Free audio and video streams can be found by visiting cneagles.com/live for the Eagle Sports Network's production.
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