KODAK, Tenn. – In a game that had that makings of a pitcher's duel, fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial used a six-run sixth inning to defeat third-seeded Carson-Newman 9-2 in the late hours of Friday night in the South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championships at Smokies Stadium.
It was the fifth time the two schools met in the postseason as Lincoln Memorial (31-19) has now come out victorious in each of the last three over Carson-Newman.
The Eagles take on eighth-seeded Anderson at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday looking to avoid elimination while the Railsplitters continue in the winner's bracket and will take on seventh-seeded Tusculum at 7:30 p.m.
LMU starting pitcher Ethan Elliott had allowed two hits entering the fourth inning when he threw 39 pitches in the bottom of the fourth. Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) roped a double inside of the third-base bag and down into the left field corner for a lead-off double. Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) singled through the left side of the infield. Mark Treadway (Friendsville, Tenn.) finished a 13-pitch at-bat with a walk to load the bases. Charlie Brown (Sevierville, Tenn.) ripped a two-run single to left field to put the Eagles ahead 2-0. Elliott halted the harm at the stranding a pair.
In the top of the fifth, the Railsplitters were able to get a run as Nate Stinson doubled down the right field line to start the frame and a wild pitch moved him to third base. Dalton Dedas drove him home with a sacrifice fly to center field to cut it to a 2-1 margin.
The top of the sixth inning turned the contest on its head as a single and two hit batsmen loaded the bases to open the frame. After two straight strikeouts, a passed ball brought home the tying run on a 2-2 pitch. Joe Stucky floated a ball to shallow right field to give LMU its first lead with a two-run single. After a walk, Seth Hunt capped the six-run stanza with a double to the gap in left center to change the score to 7-2 in favor the four seed.
Lincoln Memorial kept the pedal down in the top of the seventh as a hit batter, a single and a walk loaded the bases to open the inning. A bases loaded walk and a ground out brought two runs in to push the lead to 9-2.
Overall in the contest Carson-Newman stranded 12 men on base including a pair of runners six times. While neither side was impressive in run-producing situations, the Eagles were 3-for-18 with runners on base. Snapp and Thompson each had two hits to lead the offense.
C-N starter Dillon Cate (Sevierville, Tenn.) worked five frames yielding four earned runs on three hits and two walks with three punch outs.
Elliott, the SAC Pitcher of the Year, lasted seven innings allowing two earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters on 142 pitches. He took the win to improve to 8-3.
The 'Splitters tallied six hits on the day by six different players as Stucky drove in three and Hunt tallied a pair of RBIs. It was the sixth-lowest knocks for the team in a game this year and just the second win.
C-N will turn its sights towards a battle with upstart Anderson, the No. 8 seed, on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 p.m. The Trojans took down top-seeded Catawba 4-1 earlier Friday. The game can be found on cneagles.com/live starting 10 minutes before the first pitch on the Eagle Sports Network.
- CN -
