JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Despite a quality start from Brayden Coe, the Coker Cobras were able to rally and knock off Carson-Newman for the series win in extra innings on Sunday, Mar. 20.
Coe went 6.2 innings in the Sunday matinee, allowing four hits, walking one batter and recording three strikeouts. Runs in the top of the ninth for Coker tied the game at one before an RBI single by Bryan Castillo in the top of the eleventh eventually gave Coker the 2-1 victory.
"Coe was outstanding," says head baseball coach Tom Griffin. "He needed to get through the first inning because that's where he has struggled recently, and he did and was able to put up zeroes, which is all you can ask for a guy to do on a Sunday. He also located better today and his slider became a chase pitch that was working well."
Coe allowed the first two batters he faced in both the first and second inning reach safely, but was able to get the lead runners out just one play later, thanks to a double play turned by Micah Genter in the first and a fielder's choice to Genter in the second. Coe and the Eagles got out of the second inning after Spencer Bright gunned down Brady Jeffcoat while he was trying to steal second before forcing a ground out to Andrew Carpenter.
Killian Daughtry recorded the first hit of the game for Carson-Newman with a single in the bottom of the second inning. After a sac bunt by Genter, Jordan Griffin reached first safely after getting plunked by Brendan Mullins. A ground out by Ryan Potts moved the pair into prime scoring position, but the Eagles were unable to push a run across following a flyout to first by Luke Goforth.
Coker threatened to score in the top of the fourth after a Phil Griffor single, but he would get out on a fielders choice. Kody Hanna looked to continue his strong series and move Cory Listing to third, but a throw from Potts to Carpenter and then to Zach Boze at third ended the scoring opportunites for the Cobras. Coe punctuated the inning with his first strikeout of the day.
In the bottom of the fourth, Boze found himself with a chance to score after a double off the left field wall, but a great throw off the hop from Reilly Hall to Andrew Scudder gunned him out at third base. The base running woes continued for the Eagles in the frame, as Genter was caught stealing on a throw to second by Castillo.
Griffin once again found himself with a chance to score in the bottom of the fifth inning. After reaching first base on a fielding error, the senior found himself at third after a pair of sac bunts by Potts and Goforth. After Harrison Travis entered the game and reached first on a hit by pitch, Andrew Carpenter came through for the Eagles with an RBI single, giving Carson-Newman the 1-0 lead.
Neither team threatened to score again until the top of the ninth inning, when a single from Riley Hall and a walk to Cory Listing from Hunter Harritan gave the Cobras runners at first and second with one out. Hanna came up clutch again for the snakes, tying the game up at one run apiece with an RBI single to score Hall from second. Jake Wright was able to keep the damage to a minimium in the top of the ninth, striking out Jackson Williams to keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the ninth, Genter reached second after getting hit by a pitch and a wild pitch by Dallas Higuet moved the senior 90 feet. The Cobras silenced the Eagles and pushed the game to extras after Potts flyed out in foul territory.
Wright was phenomenal in the tenth, striking out the side in the top of the inning. A Matt Parkinson single in the bottom of the extra frame before advancing to second on a balk. Zack Hinson closed out the inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Coker broke through in the top of the eleventh inning after Castillo poked a ball to the outfield, scoring Griffor from second to give the Cobras the 2-1 lead.
Hinson sat the Eagles down quietly in the bottom half of the frame, recording a ground out, striking out Daughtry and forcing a second ground out to end the game.
Hinson earned his first win of the season after going 1.1 innings against the Eagles, allowing zero hits and striking out a pair. Wright falls to 0-2 on the season after going 2.2 innings, giving up the go-ahead run off of one hit, walking two and striking out five batters.
"The simple fact is that Coker competed today and we didn't," says Griffin. "We didn't hit well and just didn't have situational awareness. There were a lot of called strike threes and we just need to have a higher level of awareness and get the bat off of our shoulders. We also made too many defense mistakes when it mattered and made some mental errors in our baserunning. These struggles will pass but we have to get prepared for the rest of the season and try to find a way to compete at a high level."
Hanna was the only player for either team to record more than one hit on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, drawing a walk and striking out once. Hanna completed the weekend series with eight hits in twelve at bats including a pair of home runs on Saturday.
The win moves Coker to 9-19 overall and 5-4 in the SAC. It is Coker's first win in the series since the inaugural meeting in 2014 when the Cobras won two out of three games in Hartsville. It is also the first time that Coker has won a series in Jefferson City.
Carson-Newman falls to 16-12 overall and to 3-5 in South Atlantic Conference play. The Eagles are just 7-11 inside of the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex this season.
The Eagles will look to rebound as they step out of conference for a midweek matchup against Shorter down in Rome, Ga. on Tuesday, Mar. 22. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM, and fans can follow along with updates and links at cneagles.com or on twitter at @cn_eagles.
