Fox double sends C-N to Sunday play in SAC tournament

Fox double sends C-N to Sunday play in SAC tournament

FORREST CITY, N.C. – Cody Fox (Seymour, Tenn.) laced a double off the wall in center to score Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) and send Carson-Newman (21-25) on to Sunday play in the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament with a 9-8 triumph over Tusculum (29-18).

The win knocked the Pioneers out of the conference tournament and marked Carson-Newman's fourth straight win over the arch-rival Pioneers. 

Fox not only drove in the winning run for the Eagles, he also proved to be Carson-Newman's star offensively.  Fox was three-for-five with two RBI and a run scored.  Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) and Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) also turned in multi-RBI days for the Eagles.  

Tusculum got on the board in the first when Jalen Shuffler led off the game with a double, then scored on an RBI groundout from Cade Stallings.

Carson-Newman answered with three in the bottom of the inning. Tipton plated the first run with an RBI double to right center. The next two runs would score on a Tusculum throwing error to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

Carson-Newman took a 4-1 lead on a Brandon Roberts sacrifice fly in the second. The Eagles added a run in the third on an RBI single from Fox, making it 5-1.

The Pioneers scored twice in the fourth to cut the lead to two. Drewery plated the first run with an RBI triple to right field, then scored on an RBI single from Polichetti to make it 5-3.

Carson-Newman had the answer with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Roberts plated the first run with an RBI single, while a two-run homer from Ausmus to center made it 8-3.

Tusculum scored a pair of runs in the sixth to cut into the lead. Drewery drove home the first run with an RBI double to left center, while an RBI single from Polichetti made it 8-5.

The Pioneers scored three more runs in the eighth to tie it. Pinch hitter Taylor Foster drove home the first run of the frame with an RBI single. Shuffler followed with an RBI double down the left field line to cut the lead to one. A squeeze bunt from Vinny Ferrera plated pinch runner Tanner Maloof to tie the game at eight.

Tipton started the ninth by drawing a leadoff walk. He would move to second on a wild pitch. Fox then ripped a 2-1 pitch off the middle of the wall in center, allowing Tipton to score the game-winning run.

Ryan Fillers (Greeneville, Tenn.) collected the win in relief over his hometown team to move to 2-3 for the year.  He struck out two and surrendered a run in his inning and two-thirds of relief. 

Carson-Newman moves on to play Lincoln Memorial – unbeaten in this year's SAC tournament – at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. 

-CN-

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