MARS HILL, N.C. – Improving to 8-0 on the road this season, Carson-Newman used the big lumber to take a doubleheader at Mars Hill's Henderson Field on Monday winning 9-5 and 13-9 in its return to South Atlantic Conference action.
"Our club is hanging in there dealing with injuries," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "In game one, Mason Mooney helped us in relief. We had some timely hits and Zach Boze has a great approach right now was solid at the plate. In game two, Kilian Daughtry, Gunnar Ricketts and Micah Genter had good days. We do need to improve our ability to catch pop ups."
Carson-Newman (14-10, 2-3) extends its road winning streak to nine in a row, tied for the second-longest mark in the nation behind only Angelo State's 18-game mark. The Eagles have won each of the last three series against Mars Hill (10-13, 4-4).
On the day, C-N hitters blasted four home runs and notched 13 extra-base hits out of the 26 pokes for the day as nine different Eagles drove in at least one run during the two-game set.
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 9, Mars Hill 5
The Eagles put a run up on the scoreboard in the top of the first as Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) grounded out to shortstop to score Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) to open the scoring.
In the bottom of the first, two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs. Kyle Jenkins hit a ball to the wall in center field to clear the bases with a triple and put the Lions on top 3-1.
After two quiet innings, the Eagles tied the score at three in the top of fourth. After Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) scored on a wild pitch with two outs, Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) lined a single through the middle of the infield to bring in the tying run.
It was short lived as Mars Hill put runners at second and third base with no one out in the bottom of the fourth but settled for just one run on a sacrifice fly to center field to make it a 4-3 affair.
Ricketts opened up the top of the fifth inning by dribbling a base hit into center field. Two pitches later on a 1-0 offering, Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) hit a liner down the left-field line that stayed fair for his team-leading seventh home run of the season put C-N back on top at 5-4.
Carson-Newman tacked on a run in the top of the seventh when Genter hit a ball into the hole at shortstop bringing in a run from third on an infield single pushing the margin out to two at 6-4.
Playing add on in the eighth, Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) grounded out to first base to bring in a run from third and Genter drew a two-out, bases loaded walk to swell the margin to 8-4.
After Ruben Trillo led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run, Travis crushed a 3-2 offering over the wall in front of the scoreboard in left field for a solo jack giving the Eagles a 9-5 edge.
Despite walking the basses loaded to bring the tying run to the plate, Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) fanned Trillo to strike out the side in the ninth and seal the victory.
Overall the Eagles bullpen went 5 2/3 innings striking out five and allowing just one run on five hits and a walk. At the dish, Boze paced the unit going 4-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Genter knocked in three runs with two base hits and Travis added a pair of RBIs.
Three Lions posted two hits with Jenkins leading the way going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Three relievers allowed six runs on six hits and four walks.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 13, Mars Hill 9 (7 Innings)
Three straight singles put the Eagles on the board in the top of the first for the second straight contest as Travis bounced a ball back up the middle to score Ricketts and put C-N on top 1-0.
In the second inning, Griffin's group exploded for four runs on five hits. With runners at the corners, Ricketts flared a ball to center that evaded the glove of a diving centerfielder to bring in a runner. After sacrifice fly, Travis and Daughtry tallied back-to-back RBI singles to make it 5-0 contest.
Mars Hill fired back scoring three times in the bottom of the second to make it a two-run affair at 5-3. Jordan Lathe singled to left field, Trevor Bailey doubled to right center and Lathe scored on a ground out to inch the home club closer.
Carson-Newman played long ball in the top of the third. After two walks, Carpenter hammered a 0-1 pitch well over the left-field wall for a three-run blast. Following a pitching change, Ricketts clobbered the next pitch of the game out of the yard to right-center field swelling the advantage to 9-3.
Back-to-back double by Jenkins and Lathe brought a run in before Lathe scored on a ground out to cut the margin to four at 9-5 in the bottom of the fourth.
After a Carpenter sacrifice fly made it a 10-5 contest, Jenkins launched a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fifth to trim the tally to 10-7.
The Eagles put one more back on the board in the top of the sixth when Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) flipped a double inside of the right-field line to push the edge out to 11-7.
In the top of the seventh, C-N provided some much needed insurance with Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) tucking an RBI single inside of the first-base bag before scoring when Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.) doubled off of the fence in left field to push the advantage out to 13-7.
Tyler Lala blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to make it a 13-9 affair before two runners reached with one out. Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) came on in relief and fanned the final two batters of the game to seal the win.
Overall, the Orange and Blue outhit the Lions 17-9 as every starter had at least one hit and six players finished with a multi-hit outing. Ricketts went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored while Carpenter drove in a team-high four runs from the lead-off spot.
The heart of Mars Hill's lineup was responsible for almost all of the damage as Lala, Jenkins and Lathe combined to go 7-for-10 with six RBIs and eight runs scored.
Back in action on Tuesday, the Eagles will take on Lee at 4 p.m. to wrap up the road trip before returning home to Mossy Creek for a weekend slate against Coker.
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