JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Will Gardner threw his first career complete game as Carson-Newman surged to a 9-6 victory in South Atlantic Conference play Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"It [feels] unbelievable," Gardner said. "I'm extremely tired right now but Gooch Greer did an unbelievable job behind the plate. He guided me the whole game trying. I was just trying to fill up the zone and let my defense do the work for me."
The win secures a sixth straight win for Carson-Newman (12-16, 3-7) over Brevard (8-21, 2-8) and gives the Eagles a 13-1 advantage in games played in Tennessee.
"We built a lot off of Wednesday's win," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "It was a big win for us. For them mentally it goes into how we trained on Thursday. Being at home, it's a big advantage. We have been playing well at home. I think more mentally we were relaxed and feeling good. It's one win at a time and any time you can win game one that is crucial."
Brevard plated the game's first run in the top of the first inning to go on top 1-0. Josh Hall doubled to right field on a ball that one-hopped the fence. Hall was injured running the bases and replaced by Cam Dotson as a sacrifice bunt moved him to third base. Brayden Morris bounced a base hit through the left side of the infield to score Dotson.
With one out in the bottom of the third inning, Ryan Addington (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied his second bunt single of the game dropping it down the third base line. Following a punch out, Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) and Paul Kirby (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) laced RBI doubles to put the Eagles on top. A base hit floated into left-center field by Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.) capped a three-run frame and make it 3-1 Carson-Newman.
Brett Langhorne (Mechaincsville, Va.) laid down a bunt single out towards second base with one away in the bottom of the fourth. Two batters later, Addington laced a run-producing triple to center field to score Langhorne. An error by Brevard shortstop Brian Kahn allowed Addington score to stretch the C-N lead to 5-1.
Kyle Morrison started the seventh with a base hit into right field. A pop out and a fly out to right field kept Morrison at second base with two outs. A hit batter pushed him into scoring position and Morrison scored on a base hit into right field by Parker Hubbard to cut into C-N's lead and make it 5-2.
The Eagles struck for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kirby started the frame with a lead-off triple bouncing against the fence in left field before scoring on a base hit to shallow right field by Jones. The second error of the day by Kahn at shortstop allowed the second run of the stanza to score. Jimmy Rice (Middlesex, N.J.) crushed a 2-0 offering over the fence in left field for his first dinger since April 19, 2016, a string of 98 at-bats to push the lead to 9-2.
An error extended Brevard's half of the eighth inning to put a pair of runners on with two outs. Blaine Durham skied a double to left field to score a pair and cut the deficit to five runs at 9-4.
A two-run home run by Joseph Nelms with one out in the top of the ninth inning pulled the Tornados within three runs before a pop out to third ended the game and sealed a 9-6 victory.
Gardner threw 125 pitches on the day scattering nine hits while yielding six runs, four earned on one walk and three strikeouts to improve his record on the year to 3-2.
Addington led the charge offensively with a 3-for-4 day with a run driven in and two runs scored. Kirby tallied a 2-for-3 day with an RBI and two runs scored while Rice and Jones each had two hits and two RBIs.
The nine hits for Brevard came from eight different players as Schuyler Martire was the lone Tornado with multiple hits going 2-for-5. Nelms and Durham each had two RBIs.
Kyle Pittman (0-5) took the loss after tossing six innings of baseball giving up seven runs, five earned on 10 hits and four walks on three strikeouts.
Saturday afternoon marks the end of the series as the two clubs play in a doubleheader slated to begin at noon from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The game will be broadcast with video and audio channels available on cneagles.com/live starting at 11:45 a.m.
- CN -
