VIDEO: Dalton McLain Interview
HICKORY, N.C. – Down by one run with three outs to go, Carson-Newman (17-15, 10-8 SAC) scored three runs in the final inning to win the series against Lenoir-Rhyne (21-14, 9-9 SAC) and split a doubleheader Saturday at Durham Field.
"In game one we left some opportunities out there," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "But now you've got the third deciding game. You get a lead by five runs and guess what, we knew it wasn't going to be safe. They started to chip away. But just to be able to have a 10-5 lead and then get punched to then have a deficit into the seventh, that's not easy. Then, you have to think about all the innings played already, mentally you are drained. Just a great job of putting balls in play and baserunning. There were a lot of guys who contributed today. You can't safe enough about coming back in the 7th like that."
The series win is the second time in three tries that C-N has won a road conference series.
Carson-Newman won four of its five games this week, all of which were by two runs or less. The Eagles are now 13-3 in games decided by just two runs or less this season.
Going five for five at the plate in the final game of the series, Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) became the first Eagles hitter to finish with five hits in a game since Henry Jackson had five against Limestone in April of 2022.
Logan Floyd recorded a career-high five RBI in the series finale victory, the most RBI in a game for a hitter since Harrison Travis drove in five against Tusculum back in 2022 as well.
Floyd's grand slam was the second this season by a hitter and caps a month where Carson-Newman hit 25 home runs as a team. It's the long balls in a month since the club hit 36 back in March of 2010.
The Eagles offense regrouped after recording just five hits in game one and smacked 11 in the series finale to score 13 runs.
Game One: Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Carson-Newman 3
The Eagles defense made a crucial play to start the game. With runners on the corners, a ground ball hit to third turned into a 5-4-3 inning ending double play.
C-N got its first hit of the afternoon after a long at bat from Gibson finished with a double into the left center gap. The Eagles got runners at second and third but left them there in the 3rd.
The Bears loaded the bases in the fourth inning with no one out. C-N forced a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice and only allowed two runs to score and trailed 2-0 after four innings.
LR took advantage of an opportunity in the fifth inning. Back-to-back hit by pitches with two outs led to a three-run home run from Zach Evans and it was 5-0 LR after five innings.
Brock Culpepper (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) threw back-to-back scoreless frames in innings six and seven to keep C-N within striking distance.
C-N showed life offensively as Luke Goforth (Blacksburg, V.A.) led off the eighth with a pinch-hit double down the left field line. That was followed by a walk and a single to load the bases with no one out. Denten blooped a single into shallow left field to score Goforth. Next batter, Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) battled and worked the count full and was hit by a pitch to score a second run and leave the bases loaded with no one out. Logan Floyd (Adairsville, GA) kept the scoring going with a sacrifice fly to center and brough C-N within two runs. However, that's all the Eagles were able to get in the inning.
LR got an insurance run back in the bottom half of the innings and then sent down Carson-Newman in order to even the series at a game apiece.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 13, Lenoir-Rhyne 11
Two-out hitting gave Carson-Newman the early lead. Travis roped a ball into the gap in right center field to score McLain from second and the Eagles led 1-0 early.
Lenoir-Rhyne went right to work offensively. A lead off triple followed by a RBI groundout tied things at one after two batters in the bottom of the first inning. A single was followed by a Blake Bean two-run long ball. A two-out solo home run capped a four-run first inning for the Bears.
The Eagles got two runs back in the top of the second inning. With two runners in scoring position and two runners on base, McLain knocked a ball back up the middle and C-N drew within a run.
C-N scored for a third straight inning as Denten and Travis came around to score off a wild pitch and a groundout to give the Eagles their first lead of the day.
LR responded as Cole Nelson singled in a run to tie the game at five. The Bears loaded the bases with two outs, but Floyd caught a line drive at third to end the inning and strand those runners aboard.
Carson-Newman scored for a fourth straight inning and did so in a loud way. With the bases loaded and two outs, Travis drew a walk on five pitches and C-N got back in front. Next batter Logan Floyd saw two balls miss outside the zone and then got a pitch he liked and sent a ball into the trees beyond the fence for a grand slam. It was Floyd's third dinger of the week and third of his career to put the Eagles ahead 10-5 after four frames.
Cole Stanford responded with a two-out home run of his own, a two-run shot to left field to bring the Bears within three.
They cut into it once more on a Blake Bean single down the right field line and it was 10-8 after five complete innings.
The Bears offense stayed hot and so did Stanford. He homered with one out in the sixth inning and it was a one-run game. LR did more damage with two outs to grab the lead. Back-to-back RBI singles with two outs gave the Bears the lead heading into the seventh inning.
With C-N down to its final three outs, pinch hitter Will Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) drew a leadoff walk to start the seventh. That's when the miscues ensued for Lenoir-Rhyne. Reliever Cole Cockerham made back to back throwing errors on bunts by Gibson and Miller and that loaded the bases for the Eagles with zero outs. Ryan Bolton tied the game with a pinch hit RBI groundout to the right side and moved two runners into scoring position with one out.
The miscues continued to plague LR and C-N took advantage. Kobie Crushing entered the game and threw two wild pitches allowing two runs to score and the Eagles led 13-11.
After giving up the lead in the sixth inning, Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) regrouped for the seventh inning and retired the Bears in order to win the series for Carson-Newman. Harritan earned his third win of the year recording the final four outs of the game.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Tuesday afternoon in Bristol, Tenn. for a matchup against King University. The Eagles swept the Tornado in a three-game series earlier this season.
