JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 17 Catawba (23-8, 11-5 South Atlantic Conference) pitchers struck out 16 Carson-Newman (13-16, 9-7 SAC) batters in an 8-0 win Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.

Catawba starter Nick Lomascolo (7-1) took a no hitter into the sixth before toss eight complete innings of shutout ball.  He fanned 13 of the Eagle batters he faced.

"He spotted his fast ball away," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We didn't do a good job of competing with him and going backside. He was able to stay there all day. We've seen enough of him to know that he's an outstanding pitcher and a great one to learn from."

Graham Lawing finished out the game for the Indians with three strikeouts and three hits in the ninth. 

Lomascolo was matched for most of the game by the Eagles' fireballer Chris Armstrong (Blaine, Tenn.).  Armstrong (4-4) took the hard luck loss after striking out nine in seven complete innings.  Three of the six runs he surrendered were unearned.

Those unearned runs were part of a three-run third that would have been enough to give Catawba the win.

"Chris did a really solid job," Griffin said. "He recovered from the three spot that they put on early.  He really settled down and gave us a chance to get in the game.  We've got good pitching that keeps us in ball games, but we've got to improve at the plate to get us over that hump."

The Indians added another three-spot in the eighth inning thanks to a Chris Dula two-run bomb over the tall fence in left center field. 

Carson-Newman's greatest offensive threat came in the ninth when three consecutive singles helped the Eagles load the bases.  The Eagles only had runners reach second base twice. 

Kevin Franchetti (Highland, Ind.) had the most productive day at the plate for any Eagle, going two-for-four with a pair of singles.

The Eagles renew the series with the Indians Saturday with a doubleheader at noon.  Coverage is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network on cneagles.com. 

-CN-