TITLE: Travis' four homer day lifts C-N to sweep of Wasps
EMORY, V.A. – Hitting three home runs in his first three at bats of the day and four total in the two games, Harrison Travis' efforts at the dish lifted Carson-Newman (12-10, 7-4 SAC) to a doubleheader sweep of Emory & Henry (3-21, 1-13 SAC) on Saturday afternoon.
"Harrison Travis is the story of the day for sure," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "To say locked in and seeing it well is an understatement. Solid pitching once again from out starting pitchers and then relievers Grif Hughes and Hunter Harritan. I loved our energy as a team today."
Harrison Travis' three homer performance in game one is the first time in recorded history that a Carson-Newman hitters has hit three home runs in one game. He entered the doubleheader with three home runs this season and hit four in one game.
It's the first time an Eagle has hit home runs in back-to-back games since Travis did completed the feat back in April of 2022. That same month is the last time a C-N hitter launched a ball out of the park in both games of a doubleheader.
Travis reached base in all of eight of his plate appearances, four home runs and four walks all of which were intentional walks.
Carson-Newman remains unbeaten in five meetings with the Wasps.
Game One: Carson-Newman 8, Emory & Henry 4
E&H put together back-to-back one-out hits in the bottom of inning number one and took an early lead after a sacrifice fly.
Carson-Newman wasted no time getting that run back. On an 0-2 pitch, Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) launched a breaking ball over the left center field wall for his fourth home run of the season to tie the game at 1.
BYE BYE BALL @whtravis2 goes yard to tie the game!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 16, 2024
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The Wasps quickly regained an advantage in the bottom half of the second. Two RBI doubles made it 3-1 E&H after two innings.
Travis delivered once again. After a leadoff single from James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.), Travis followed with his second home run of the day in as many at bats to level the score at 3.
HAVE A DAY HARRISON����
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 16, 2024
His second home run in as many at bats ties the game
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Noah Pridmore (Ooltewah, Tenn.) settled into a groove after the three early runs. The right-hander retired nine batters and sent E&H down in order from innings three through five.
The day belonged to Travis who homered for a third time in three at bats and C-N grabbed its first lead of the day in the top of the sixth.
THIS DUDE @whtravis2
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 16, 2024
3 AT BATS. 3 HOME RUNS����
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The Eagles extended their lead with two outs. Spencer Bright doubled to left and scored after Logan Floyd (Adairsivlle, Ga.) replaced him at second to make it 5-3. Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) kept the line moving with a single through the left side and the lead was 6-3.
Wisely, E&H elected to intentionally walk Travis to load the bases in both the seventh and eighth innings but C-N came up empty in those opportunities and the lead was 8-4 through seven and a half.
Pridmore completed six innings of work allowing four runs and striking out four to earn his third win of the season.
In relief of Pridmore, Grif Hughes (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded the final nine outs of the game to secure his first save of the season. The lefty got out of two situations where two runners were aboard to put up three zeros in relief.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 5, Emory & Henry 4
Just like game one, E&H scored in the opening inning. A failed pickoff attempt advanced a runner to third with just one out and scored the runner on RBI groundout.
C-N made things happen in the third inning. An intentional walk to Travis loaded the bases with two outs. On an 0-2 pitch, Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch to tie the game at 1. Floyd followed with a two-RBI single through the right side to plate two runs and give Carson-Newman its first lead in game two. The four-run frame was capped off by a Carson Cochran RBI single through the left side to make it 4-1.
The Wasps cut into the deficit and scored twice with two outs. Jermie Greene, Jr. doubled down the left field line to plate two runs and it was 4-3 after three.
E&H decided to pitch to Travis again and he made them pay. The graduate student launched his fourth home run of the day to increase Carson-Newman's lead to 5-3.
YOU ARE INSANE @whtravis2
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 16, 2024
That's 4⃣ homers on the day������
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An RBI groundout in the bottom half of the fifth inning brought C-N's lead back to just one run. Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) entered in the fifth and was critical to the Eagles' ability to hold the one-run lead.
The right-hander escaped a sixth inning jam with two runners on by recording a strikeout to end the sixth inning.
E&H got the tying runner all the way over to third base after two wild pitches. But Harritan bared down and struck out Greene, Jr. to finish off his fifth save of the season.
Blake Cooper (Maryville, Tenn.) gave C-N a quality effort as the starter in game two. The lefty fired 4 2/3 innings allowing just one earned run to earn his first win with Carson-Newman.
Ryan Potts had a two-hit afternoon in game two.
First pitch of the series finale is set for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. 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.
