JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a game with just ten total hits, Lee (16-7) did just enough offensively to leave town with a 3-1 victory over Carson-Newman (10-10) Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"Frankie Volkers had a lot to do with our offensive struggles," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "He did a great job locating exceptionally well. All their pitchers had good stuff. Sometimes as hitters you have to try and figure out what the pitcher wants to do and change your gameplan. More than anything, I thought the energy level late in the game when we had opportunities with runners on first and second and the bases loaded. I just felt like the energy level was like, oh it's just a midweek game. I was really encouraged again by the pitching. Great start by Mr. Culpepper and then the young guys who came in did phenomenal jobs. Our pitching has been consistent all year, what hasn't been consistent this year is defense and offense."
Lee sweeps the season series with C-N and has won the last four meetings.
Brock Culpepper (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) started off his second start of the year very well. He allowed just one hit and only four runners total to reach through his first three scoreless innings of the afternoon.
Carson-Newman started the scoring with a hit and run. With two outs and Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) running on the pitch, James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) slapped a ball through the left side to score McLain all the way from first and it was 1-0 after three innings.
However, that lead did not last. Matthew Batts led off the fourth inning with a double and a pair of groundouts scored him from third to tie the game.
Lee was able to take advantage of C-N miscues in the fifth inning. To start the inning, Josiah Miller hit a fly ball into shallow left field that fell between two defenders to start the frame with a double. After a strikeout, a single scored Miller from second to make it 2-1. With two outs, a double into center field scored the second run of the inning and Lee led by two after five innings.
Carson-Newman pitching was excellent in the final four innings to keep the Eagles within striking distance. Freshman Ryan Higgins pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings and struck out four hitters. Fellow freshman Braden Williams followed Higgins' line with a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Nolan Rogers closed the strong relief efforts by striking out two guys in the ninth. Those three relivers combined to retire seven of the last eight hitters they faced.
The offense had opportunities. A pinch-hit single from Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) followed by a walk to Spencer Williams loaded the bases in the seventh with one-out. C-N left the bases loaded.
A two-out double and a walk put the go-ahead run at the dish in the eighth inning, but C-N stranded two more runners aboard. For the game, Carson-Newman left eight guys on base, five of which were in the final three innings.
Carson-Newman's pitching staff combined for 11 strikeouts, with four different arms firing at least two punchouts. The staff held the top scoring team in the Gulf South Conference to just five hits and three runs.
C-N struck out 13 times at the plate, tying the most in a game this season. Five different hitters recorded one-hit in the effort. The Eagles were 2-13 with runners on base.
Carson-Newman is back in action as it hits the road for a three-game conference series with Emory & Henry this weekend. Fans can follow along with the action with updates on Twitter (X) and Facebook at CN_eagles. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports
