KODAK, Tenn. – Newberry scored double-digit runs for the second straight game using an eight-run fourth frame to defeat fifth-seeded Carson-Newman 14-7 Monday at the 2021 Pilot Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championships inside of Smokies Stadium.
For the second time in the last four years, the Eagles were one of the final teams standing in the conference tournament after producing one of its best conference efforts in over a decade. The No. 5 seed charged to three wins in a row before dropping two games on the final day of the year.
"It says a lot about mental toughness and intestinal fortitude," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "To put those things behind you is not easy for anybody because emotions are tough but we found a way just to get in the tournament and then to make a run. We played a very difficult schedule with who we had to play top to bottom. The broad spectrum of who we are it showed in the tournament. It showed against some very good clubs. I can't be prouder of the effort and the mindset that these guys had."
Carson-Newman (27-16) had won both meetings with Newberry played at Smokies Stadium with Newberry (25-14) picking up its first win over the Orange and Blue in the postseason since April 20, 2013.
Newberry wasted no time taking a lead with Zachary Bailes starting off the game with an infield single on a dribbler to third. Luke Orr continued his hot hitting lacing an RBI triple to the fence in right-center field to open the scoring. Jack Harris followed with a run-producing hit to center field to put the Wolves ahead 2-0 before the Eagles hit the bat rack.
Ian Clements reached on a bunt single to start the second and a throwing error put men at second and third base for Dalton Landsdowne. The right-handed hitter slapped a single to right field bringing in a pair and stretching the lead to 4-0.
One out into the bottom of the second, Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) cranked a 1-0 pitch to the back, black fencing at Smokies Stadium for a solo home run that trimmed the score to 4-1.
C-N answered with two outs in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a two-run double by Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) on a rocket that banged off of the fence in left-center field to make it a one-run game at 4-3.
Newberry blew it open with an eight-run fourth inning, the most runs allowed by the Eagles in any inning this year. Eight of the first nine batters in the frame reached safely with Jack Harris and Dalton Landsdowne providing two-run doubles to highlight to scoring outburst and put the Wolves in the driver's seat at 12-3.
With two outs and a runner at second base, Bryce Hanley (Greenback, Tenn.) bounced a ball inside the third base bag to bring in a run. Two pitches later on a 2-0 offering, Charlie Brown (Sevierville, Tenn.) launched his third home run of the season off of the roof of the pavilion down the left-field line. However Jack Harris hammered a 3-0 pitch to left-center field for a two-run blast to make it a 14-6 game at stretch time.
The Eagles tacked on a run in the bottom of the ninth but ended the afternoon getting outhit 16-9. Thompson led the way with a 2-for-4 line scoring a run while Brown and Parkinson each drove in two runs.
Carson-Newman's bullpen trio of Ryan Smithson (Monroe, Ga.), Clay Murrell (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Clay Simpson (Erwin, Tenn.) combined to allow three earned runs on four hits over the final 5 2/3 innings on the rubber.
Joe LaFiora picked up his third win of the year firing six stanzas giving up six earned runs on seven hits and two walks fanning three. Josh Stempihar worked the final three innings for the save.
Harris paced an offense that pounded out 16 hits going 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two runs scored finishing a double shy of the cycle. Clements added three hits while Landsdowne tallied a 3-for-4 effort with four RBIs and three runs scored.
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