GAFFNEY, S.C. – In a game that featured nine combined hits, Limestone broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning to take the series finale on Sunday at Founders FCU Stadium over Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference action.
"A lot of credit to Brett [Harker] and his club trying to get a game out of the series," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "You have a chance to sweep it on the road which is difficult to do. Credit to them and their pitcher. He absolutely dominated our hitters. He was better in every facet. I thought our starter was not effective enough. I thought Eli Norris was tremendous. What a great job he did coming out of the pen. They did a great job keeping us in the game."
After winning seven conference contests in a row, the Eagles lose for the first time in 15 days but the group has won six of the last seven series in league play and 16 of the last 22 games overall.
Carson-Newman (14-13, 7-2) had rattled off a series-high seven wins in a row over Limestone (9-16, 4-8) with the Saints winning for the first time since Feb. 4, 2021, a 4-3 win in Gaffney.
Limestone opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning with Jack Davis lining a single into left field with one out before stealing second and going to third base on a wild pitch. Peter Adams grounded a ball to second base with the throw coming home late to give the Saints a 1-0 edge.
With one out, Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) and James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) singled. Following a punch out, Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) ripped a double down the left-field line to score the tying run. After a walk, the Eagles left the bases loaded on a ground out to first base.
In the bottom of the sixth, an infield single and two walks loaded the bases with one out. Wyatt Stone put the Saints ahead with a base hit into left field but the next two were retired to keep the margin at one, 2-1.
Carson-Newman put a man in scoring position in the seventh and had a runner aboard in the eighth but could not score stranding eight on base for the game.
The Eagles outhit the Saints 5-4 as Denten was the only man in the game to notch two hits. The Orange and Blue struck out 16 times in the game.
Griffin used five pitchers to strike out nine batters while Limestone's Marty Neal fanned 13 batters over six innings allowing one run on five hits and two walks. Cale Wagoner recorded the final eight outs striking out three.
Breaking up the road swing, Carson-Newman returns to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex on Wednesday to host Trevecca Nazarene for a 3 p.m. first pitch against the Trojans. Fans can view the game with a paid subscription on FloSports with an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live.
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