JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Senior catcher Gooch Greer went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs as Carson-Newman blasted Limestone 18-1 as 12 different Eagles scored Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"You all called me a defensive catcher and that kind of inspired me a little bit," Greer said. "To come out and do that it's just been the work in the cage and time you put in every day to do this. It's really paid off and being able to be locked in. I'm looking for something to drive. With the bases loaded I'm just trying to get RBIs. I got up there and as soon as I hit it, I knew it was the one."
The Eagles (19-13) are now a perfect 7-0 all-time at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex against the Saints (13-22) dating back to the first meeting in 2006.
Limestone pitching issued 13 walks on the day marking the most taken by Carson-Newman since the South Atlantic Conference Tournament against Lincoln Memorial on April 23, 2010 in a 7-5 Eagle victory.
"We had a good talk yesterday with our club about what we have to do down the stretch," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We had a great practice yesterday. Today, the energy and what our expectations have been and always will be it certainly showed."
The Eagles scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning sending 12 batters to the plate. Limestone starter Willis Dobison walked three of the first four men he faced and committed an error to plate the first run for C-N. With the bases loaded, senior catcher Gooch Greer (Dickson, Tenn.) pasted a 1-2 offering over the left-center field fence for the Eagles' second grand slam of the year. A sacrifice fly from senior third baseman Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) capped the frame with junior center fielder Ryan Addington (Cincinnati, Ohio) scoring.
Junior second baseman Trever Lee (Garner, N.C.) started the third inning with a solid single into center field. Greer stepped to the dish and cranked his fourth career home run over the right-center field fence to push the lead to 8-0 after three innings.
Carson-Newman batted around in the fourth inning to extend the advantage to 13-0. Lee and Rice had RBI singles and a fielding error at first base brought home the first three runs of the inning. With one out, Roberts drove home two runs with a double to the wall in right-center field.
The Saints picked up their first hit of the day in the top of the fifth inning on the first pitch of the stanza on a solo home run over the left-field wall by Brett Duckett.
The Eagles scored five more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as they sent 11 men to the plate. Three runs scored on bases loaded walks, one scored a bases loaded hit batter with the final run crossing the plate on an infield single by junior Joe Selitto (Newton, N.J.).
Freshman right-hander Grant Rabbitts (Johnson City, Tenn.) pitched the longest outing of his career going six innings yielding just one run on two hits with two strikeouts and one walk to improve to 3-1 on the season.
"Grant was awesome today," Greer said. "I told him before the game 'this is going to be the best game you ever had in your life'. Just take it one inning at a time. I just feel like we are on the same page. He executed his pitches well."
11 Eagles scored at least one run on the day as Lee and Selitto joined Greer with multi-hit days as each had two knocks while Lee drove in two runs and Roberts tallied three RBIs.
On top of the 13 walks allowed by Limestone pitching, the Saints hit two batters, threw five wild pitches and tallied three balks.
Carson-Newman hosts Newberry this weekend for a three-game series in South Atlantic Conference action. Each game will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network beginning 10 minutes prior to first pitch on cneagles.com/live with audio and video streams.
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