JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Paul Kirby notched a career-high seven runs batted in and Carson-Newman scored in each inning but the sixth as 10 different players racked up at least one hit en route to a 16-2 thrashing of Shorter Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"It's what we expected from our guys because of the type of people they are," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said of the club's mentality to bounce back. "I think when you see them with the class and integrity whether they are winning or losing says a lot about the type of people they are. How they handle adversity says a lot about these young men. A day like today, we knew they would be focused on the next pitch."
11 different players scored for Carson-Newman (20-20) as each starter crossed the plate for the first time March 18, 2015 against Cedarville. The Eagles are now 5-1 all-time against Shorter (19-19) while picking up their first win at home in the series.
In the bottom of the first inning, an error at shortstop by Patrick Sanderson brought home Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) from third base to put the Eagles on top 1-0 after a frame.
Trever Lee (Garner, N.C.) doubled to the wall in right-center field to open the bottom of the second stanza. Lee moved to third base on a ground out by Jimmy Rice (Middlesex, N.J.). Ryan Addington (Cincinnati, Ohio) lined a double into right field to score Lee and expand the margin to 2-0.
The Hawks picked up a run thanks to three consecutive two-out singles in the top of the third inning capped by a knock to left field by Will Winslow to pull the visitors within a run at 2-1.
Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.) ripped a one-out double off of the fence in center field and was standing at second with two outs. Brett Langhorne (Mechiancsville, Va.) blasted the first pitch he saw over the 18-foot fence in left-center field for his fifth blast of the season to stretch the edge to 4-1.
The first two Eagles to bat in the bottom of the fourth reach on back-to-back four pitch walks. Two consecutive fielder's choices scored Rice from third base to push the advantage to 5-1.
The Eagles exploded for a seven-run fifth inning off of just three hits. C-N loaded the bases off of a double from Jones, a bunt single from Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) and a walk to Lee. Rice bunted with the sacks full and a fielder's choice saw everyone called safe to score Jones. A hit batter and a walk with the bases juiced added a pair. The frame was concluded with the second career grand slam home run by Paul Kirby (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) as the senior cranked the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in left-center field to make it an 11-run game at 12-1.
"I was looking for an off-speed pitch," Kirby said. "We have great communication over here. Addington came over and told me what to look for. I get to watch Cade in front of me and what they throw to him they normally throw to me. I saw that pitch and I hit it."
Hunter Wood (College Grove, Tenn.) snapped a 0-13 streak at the plate with a one-out RBI double to the fence in left-center field to score Addington. Kirby notched his sixth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to right as the score adjusted to 14-1.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Carson-Newman in the bottom of the eighth inning as Joe Selitto (Newton, N.J.) drew a base on balls to score a run. Kirby capped his day with a two-out RBI knock into left field as the lead ballooned to 16-1.
A throwing error by Raunel Perez (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) allowed Shorter to get back on the scoreboard in top of the ninth before the righty struck out Bailey Gertsner to end the contest.
Kirby tallied a career-high seven RBIs going 2-for-5 in the contest. Snapp and Langhorne each drove in a pair of runners to cap the players with multi-RBI efforts.
Gertsner had two of the 10 hits on the afternoon for the Hawks going 2-for-5. Banks Woodley took his fourth loss of the season giving up four earned runs on seven hits in three innings of work.
Carson-Newman plays its final South Atlantic Conference home series of 2017 this weekend against Wingate as the series starts Friday a 2 p.m. The Eagle Sports Network will provide an audio and video stream on cneagles.com/live starting 15 minutes prior to first pitch for each game of the series.
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