HARROGATE, Tenn. – Dalton Long made two mistakes on the mound and Brett Langhorne notched four hits overall on the day as Carson-Newman overcame two walk-off losses to take an 8-4 victory in the finale. The Eagles fell 12-11 in the first game of the day against Lincoln Memorial at Lamar Hennon Field on Sunday in South Atlantic Conference play.
"I think the biggest thing we take from this is the way we responded in game three," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "Losing the first two like we did is usually very difficult for a team to overcome. You get punched in the face twice when you have a chance to win and it can be really demoralizing. The team overall did a good job staying positive and putting that behind us which isn't easy to do. Dalton did a good job and Victory did well out of the bullpen."
Lincoln Memorial (20-10, 7-8) seals a series victory at home over Carson-Newman (18-12, 10-5) for the fourth time in five tries as a member of the SAC. The Eagles end a 10-game losing streak that dates back March 1, 2014 and winning in Harrogate for the first time since March 30, 2013.
Game One: LINCOLN MEMORIAL 12, Carson-Newman 11
Carson-Newman opened the scoring in the top of the first inning as Brett Langhorne (Mechanicsville, Va.) opened the contest with a double to right-center field. Two straight fly outs brought home the senior to make it a 1-0 affair.
Lincoln Memorial had the response in the bottom of the fourth as a fielding error at shortstop and a single up the middle set the stage for a game-tying poke by Joe Stucky.
It was a short-lived tie as Langhorne doubled with two outs in the fifth and came across the plate on an RBI single to left-center field by John Sharpe (Franklin, Tenn.).
With a one-run lead, C-N sent 13 men to the plate and LMU used four different pitchers as the Eagles scored eight times to push the margin to 10-1 in the seventh. The bases were loaded with two outs and no runs scored when the onslaught started.
Sharpe cleared the bases with a double down the right-field line on a 1-0 count. After a walk, Ethan Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) singled home Sharpe. Colby Morgan (Hixson, Tenn.) followed by driving home a pair with a triple to right field. A single from Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) and a double from Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) capped the scoring.
A sacrifice fly by Logan Augustine after the seventh inning stretch made it a 10-2 game before the 'Splitters saw their offense bust out for a nine-run eighth inning to take an 11-10 lead.
Justin Shaw started the spurt with a two-run single with one out to cut it to a six-run contest. After a hit batsmen, Will Reddick pushed a single through the right side of the infield to add two more. Augustine drove home a teammate with a single into center and Timmy Wages tripled down the right-field line to make it a one-run game with one out. After a punch out, Salvey doubled to right to tie the game. A passed ball scored Tyler Adams from third base to put the home team on top.
The Eagles tied the game in the top of the ninth as Goforth drew a lead-off walk, moved to third on a single by Campbell and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Jordan Griffin (Ellersie, Ga.)
In the bottom of the ninth, Shaw reached on an infield single to shortstop to start the frame. A sacrifice bunt and a walk put the double play back in order. Augustine was intentionally walked as Wages pushed a base hit into right field on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to score the winning run and lead the 'Splitters to their second straight walk-off win over C-N.
Griffin's group went 8-for-15 with two outs in the game and 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Sharpe led the team by going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored. He was one of five players with at least two hits in the game.
C-N starting pitcher Kyle Cagle (Fairview, N.C.) tossed six innings of nine-hit baseball allowing two runs, one earned, with two strikeouts.
Out of the nine hole in the lineup, Shaw went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored while Augustine was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Overall, LMU had an 18-13 advantage in the hits column.
VICTORY! @ryan_victory1 earns the save by slamming the door with the bases loaded and no one out getting a double play and ground out.
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) March 25, 2018
�� @CNBaseball 8
�� @LMURailsplitter 4
FINAL pic.twitter.com/JkfdIcrQuj
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 8, Lincoln Memorial 4
Once again Langhorne got the ball rolling in the series finale as the third baseman tripled to right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) to put the Eagles ahead 1-0 in the first.
In the top of the second, C-N strung together three straight hits with one out to load the bases. Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) hit a double to right-center field to score two runners. After a walk, a fielding error at third base and a sacrifice fly from Snapp pushed the margin to 5-0.
Salvey and Dedas each hit a two-run home run, three batters apart, to left field in the bottom of the second inning to cut the deficit to one run at 5-4.
Genter was hit by a pitch to start the sixth. On the next offering, Langhorne smacked his fourth home run of the season clearing the wall in right field. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before a passed ball brought home Sharpe expanding the bulge to 8-4.
A walk, a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases for LMU in the bottom of the seventh. C-N called upon Ryan Victory (Brentwood, Tenn.). The junior induced a 1-4-3 double play from Augustine and Wages grounded out to shortstop to seal the win.
Starting pitcher Dalton Long (Powell, Tenn.) picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the season working six innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four.
Victory earned his third career save and first in a SAC game while tossing a scoreless frame in his ninth appearance of the season.
Three players had multi-hit efforts for the Eagles as Thompson had three hits in four at-bats with Langhorne and Morgan each notching a pair.
Stucky went 3-for-3 out of the seven spot in the lineup as the top four guys went a combined 1-for-13 at the dish. Starting pitcher Dominic Morabito lasted just four outs giving up five runs to fall to 1-3 on the season.
A non-conference game on Tuesday in Rome, Ga. is next on the docket for the Eagles as C-N travels to Shorter for a 3 p.m. first pitch. The Eagle Sports Network will have the call on cneagles.com/live starting at 2:50.
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