JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On a rainy day at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex, Carson-Newman (3-2) was unable to overcome Shippensburg's (1-0) great start at the plate, falling 10-5 on Friday afternoon.
"It was tough having to play catch up so early," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "We had a couple of opportunities to get closer, I think we left 16 guys on base. We have to find a way to get those knocks. The bullpen did a nice job and some guys got their feet wet and got their first experience in college baseball which was good. It was one of those days where you have to find a way to battle back and we did there a little bit and had some guys in scoring position to where if you get that one knock your getting within two or three runs. That's a good team, they were in the regional last year for a reason. A really good veteran club that's very poised and confident."
Shippensburg did its damage in the first inning with two outs. Austin Baal doubled down the right field to score Carter Hinds to make it 1-0. Two batters later, Andrew Chronister singled through the right side to score another run. Next batter Morgan Wyatt capped the inning with a three-run home run to straight away center and it was 5-0 after the top of the 1st.
C-N was able to get a run back in the bottom half of the inning. A one-out triple from Trey Miller (Rocky Point, NY) allowed him to score as James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) followed with a single to left and the score was 5-1 after the opening inning.
The Raiders increased the lead in the second inning. After loading the bases to start the inning, Baal singled through the right side to score two more runners. A third run came around to score on the sequence after a bobble in right field and the score was 8-1.
Carson-Newman had opportunities to trim into the seven-run deficit. The Eagles had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth but stranded the guys aboard. They finally took advantage in the fifth inning. Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) singled through the right side to score two runs and trim the lead to 8-3 after five innings.
Baal helped the Raiders get a run back in the sixth when he singled down the left field line to score Hinds and extend the lead to 9-3. Hinds extended the lead again in the eighth inning off a fielding error.
C-N loaded the bases again, this time in the eighth inning and were able to score twice off of it. Nicholas Castellana (Lancaster, NY) drove in a run off an infield single. Logan Floyd (Adairsville, GA) got hit by the next pitch to score another run and make it 10-5 with just one out in the inning. A ground ball double play ended the threat in the eighth inning.
The Eagles tried to rally in the ninth by putting two runners on with one out, but Brenden Anderson struck out the final two batters of the game to secure Shippensburg's first win of the season.
Carson-Newman stranded 16 runners in the game and only had four hits with runners on base.
Noah Pridmore (Ooltewah, Tenn.) took the loss on the mound, pitching five innings allowing ten hits and eight runs while striking out three. He ended his outing with three consecutive scoreless innings.
Astern, Miller and Denten paced C-N's ten hit attack, each recording multiple hits. Miller finished a home run shy of the cycle.
The two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader, but rain halted the second game in the bottom of the first inning after C-N scored on a wild pitch in the frame. A downpour ensued and the game was called.
With more rain scheduled in the forecast, no time has been announced for tomorrow's action. Stay updated at cneagles.com and on our Twitter and Facebook pages at @CN_Eagles for more updates on tomorrow's potential games.
