VIDEO: Gooch Greer moderates Greg Jones Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – 12 of Carson-Newman's 16 runs were scored in the late innings as the Eagles swept Brevard for the seventh time in 10 series earning an 8-5 win in game one and a 8-1 triumph in the series finale Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"They have done it all year as far as scoring late and getting back into games," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said of the late run production. "I think it goes back to a lot of experience. There is a lot of juniors and seniors. They understand that the previous at-bats have nothing to do with your next at-bat. You have to flush that stuff out of the way and the next at-bat is what matters."
In its final three at-bats in game one, Carson-Newman (14-16, 5-7) scored six runs to overcome a three-run deficit while expanding on a lead in game two with six runs in its final two at-bats.
The Eagles have now won eight straight games over Brevard (8-23, 2-10) and are 28-3 all-time against the Tornados.
Ryan Addington (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the charge offensively by going 4-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs scored while Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.) drove in three runs and recorded a pair of pickoffs and a caught stealing behind the plate.
"It's something we work on all the time," Jones said. "We want to be aggressive throwing the ball around. That starts with communicating with your corners and your middle infield to let them know if we have something we want to try to get them out."
GAME ONE: CARSON-NEWMAN 8, Brevard 5
Donny Carsillo flicked a base hit into right field on a 0-2 pitch with one out in the top of the first inning. Two pitches later on a 0-1 offering, Kyle Morrison cranked his third home run of the season over the 380 marker in center field to put Brevard ahead 2-0.
Brevard starting pitcher Drake Black retired the first five batters of the game before walking Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) on four pitches. Campbell stole second and scored on a two-out single to left field by Brett Langhorne (Mechiancsville, Va.) that extended the junior's hitting streak to 10 games to make it a 2-1 game.
The Tornados picked up two more runs in the top of the third inning to go on top 4-1. Parker Hubbard pounded the fifth pitch of the frame to the wall in the right field for a lead-off double and scored on a single to right by Schuyler Martire for the first run of the frame. Martire moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Kyle Morrison.
An RBI ground out by Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) in the top of the third started the comeback for the Eagles scoring Gooch Greer (Dickson, Tenn.) to make it a 4-2 deficit.
The last time the Tornados scored in the game came in the top of the sixth inning when an error by Langhorne at third base allowed Donny Carsillo, who walked to start the inning, to score and stretch the edge to 5-2.
Paul Kirby (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) started the sixth inning by pounding a 2-0 offering over the wall in left field for his fourth long ball of the season to pull the Eagles within two.
Carson-Newman took the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out rally. Black retired the first batters on two pitches before hitting Snapp and Kirby. Jones floated an RBI single into right field to score Snapp. Campbell hit a single into center field to score a run and a throw into third base went into the third base dugout allowing the go-ahead run to score and put the Eagles on top 6-5.
Once again in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Eagles scored with two outs as Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) smacked a single into left field to score Addington. With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Graham Warren (Franklin, Tenn.) slashed a base hit into right to extend the lead to 8-5.
Raunel Perez (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) posted his third save of the season yielding just one hit with two strikeouts to close out the game. Hunter Dodson (Huntersville, N.C.) improved to 2-0 striking out the only two batters he faced.
Addington and Langhorne were the only Eagles to post multi-hit games as each went 2-for-4.
Black (2-4) went seven innings allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits, four walks, three hit batters while striking out five. Morrison drove in three runs for the offense.
GAME TWO: CARSON-NEWMAN 8, Brevard 1
Addington sizzled the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the first inning into left-center field for a lead-off single. The senior moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and was standing on second after a pop out. Kirby lined a base hit into left field to score Addington and put C-N ahead 1-0.
Campbell served a 1-1 pitch off of the base of the wall in left-center field to open the bottom of the second inning and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. After a strikeout, Langhorne smacked a sacrifice fly into center field to make it 2-0 Eagles.
Two of the first three batters walked for Brevard in the top of the fifth inning as Brayden Morris knocked in a run with a base hit into center field to pull the Tornados within a run at 2-1.
Carson-Newman sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning and scored four times to extend the advantage to 6-1. Langhorne was hit by the first pitch of the stanza. Jimmy Rice (Middlesex, N.J.) ripped a double to the fence in the left field to score Langhorne seven pitches later. Brevard starter Tyler Konzen walked the bases loaded with two outs before uncorking a wild pitch to score Joe Selitto (Newton, N.J.). Jones laced a base hit into right field to plate a pair and cap the four-run fifth inning.
Langhorne was hit by a pitch for the second straight inning with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a punch out, Addington blasted his fifth home run of the season over the right field fence on the first pitch of his at-bat to push the lead to 8-1.
Ryan Eberle (Cookeville, Tenn.) tossed six innings allowing just one earned run on five hits while walking four and hitting three on 98 pitches to improve to 2-4 on the year.
Addington went 2-for-4 with two runs driven in as Jones drove in a pair while throwing out three base runners on the base paths picking off a pair of runners and catching a runner attempting to steal.
Konzen (2-5) took the loss yielding eight earned runs on seven hits walking two and punching out five.
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday as Limestone comes to town for a game at 3 p.m. in non-conference scuffle. There will be a video and an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live starting 15 minutes prior to first pitch as the Eagle Sports Network provides coverage.
- CN -
