WINGATE, N.C. — The Carson-Newman baseball team split a doubleheader with Wingate University on Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference action at Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field. The Eagles dropped game one, 14-6, before claiming the second game, 5-3.
With the split, the Eagles win the series and improve to 17-21 on the season and 13-8 in the conference. Wingate is now 24-17 overall and 11-10 in SAC play.
In the first game, the Bulldogs erupted for five runs in the first and eight runs in the third en route to a 14-6 victory.
The Eagles tallied nine hits in the loss, including two each from Lance Rorex (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Trace Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.). Rogers also drove in two runs.
Wingate pounded out 18 hits. Cale Rogers (Snow Camp, N.C.) went 4-for-6, including two doubles, to lead the way, while James Tedder (Clemmons, N.C.) went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.) went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs. Dodson McPherson (Graham, N.C.) added two hits, including a home run and four RBIs. Casey Allison and Cody Shelton (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed two hits apiece in the win.
Wingate starting pitcher Justin Somers (Wilmington, N.C.) earned the win after working 8 2/3 innings. Sommers (4-3) allowed five earned runs and eight hits and had seven strikeouts on the day.
C-N starting hurler Alex Britt (Salisbury, N.C.) was tagged with the loss. Britt (2-2) surrendered 12 runs and 11 hits in 2 1/3 innings on the mound.
In the second game, the Eagles erased an early two-run deficit to claim a 5-3 victory.
C-N tallied nine hits in the win, including a 3-for-4 effort from senior Jonathan Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.), while catcher Mason Guymon (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) produced two hits.
The Bulldogs finished the contest with seven hits. Yeung delivered a home run and two RBIs, while McPherson and Jacob Karr added two hits apiece for Wingate.
Eagles starter Robby Thigpen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) earned the win after working 6 2/3 innings. Thigpen (6-2) gave up three runs and seven hits and had five strikeouts on the day.
C-N reliever Ryan Fillers (Greeneville, Tenn.) picked up his third save of the season by retiring the final batter of the game.
Wingate right-hander Ben Currie (Clemmons, N.C.) took the loss to fall to 1-5 on the season. Currie gave up two earned runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings of work.
The Bulldogs got off to another strong start, as Yeung came through with a two-run home run in the first inning to give Wingate a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles answered in the second with a RBI single from Troy Zawadski (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to trim Wingate's lead to 2-1.
C-N then took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fourth. Evan Patterson (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Cody Nix (Cartersville, Ga.) led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Patterson later scored on a sacrifice fly by Rorex, and Nix raced home on a Wingate error to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
The Eagles pushed across two more runs in the seventh on a RBI single by Aaron Vargas (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and a run-scoring single by Dalton to take a 5-2 lead into the final half inning.
Wingate pulled to within 5-3 in the seventh after a run-scoring single by McPherson, but Fillers entered the contest and retired the next batter to seal the win.
The Eagles return to action at home on Wednesday against Pfeiffer. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
