VIDEO: Vince Apicella Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (2-2, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) snapped the Catawba Indians' five-conference series winning streak by taking two out of three games against the defending SAC champs for the first time since 2008.
The Eagles took a 1-0 decision in game one of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon to clinch the series at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex while dropping the second game 6-3.
"That's a good pitching staff," head coach Tom Griffin said. "For us to battle that way with different guys getting key hits and putting us in a situation to get a win, that's what you're asking for."
Game One – CARSON-NEWMAN 1 Catawba 0
There were a combined four hits from the two sides when senior outfielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run over the fence in left field. The roundtripper marked the 20th homer of the senior's career.
Each team left five men on base in the pitcher's duel. Carson-Newman tallied five hits while Catawba had three hits, two of which were doubles.
Junior southpaw Vince Apicella (Dillsburg, Pa.) delivered his first career complete game by yielding three hits with two walks while tallying a career-high 13 strikeouts, besting his previous high of seven.
"We knew coming into today that they were a fastball hitting team," Apicella said. "You have to stick with your offspeed. Our catchers really kept the pitchers on board with that. I just stuck with offspeed all day."
Preseason first team All-SAC selection Craig Brooks went 7.1 innings of one run, five-hit baseball as he struck out 10 and walked one in the loss.
Game Two – CATAWBA 6 Carson-Newman 3
For the second time in as many days, Will Albertson clubbed a home run in the first inning, this time a solo shot to put the visiting team ahead 1-0 before the home team came to the plate.
Carson-Newman tied the score in the bottom of the third inning. Senior catcher J.D. Cowart (Athens, Tenn.) was hit-by-a-pitch to begin the inning. He advanced to second base on a ground out and came into score on a two-out single to right field by Ausmus.
Catawba regained the lead in the next half inning that featured three innings by Carson-Newman's defense. A fielding error by centerfielder Ryan Addington (Cincinnati, Ohio) allowed T.J. Wharton to reach to begin the inning. A single from Brooks put two men on base with no one out. With one out, Eagle starter Jamie Miller (Wardensville, W.V.) hit a batter to load the bases. Errors by Ausmus and Miller allowed the two runs to score in the frame and make it a 3-1 game.
The Eagles once again answered in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out and a runner on base, senior shortstop Bryan Everhart (Greeneville, Tenn.) cranked his first home run of the year to square things up at three.
The Indians' fifth inning started with the Eagles' fourth error of the game. With two men on and no one out, Wharton laced a single to bring home the eventual winning run. Doubles by Brooks and Kyle Smith brought home two more runs to make it a 6-3 contest.
Carson-Newman put a runner on base in each of the next two innings, but the Eagles could never mount a comeback.
Ausmus went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a game that saw each team collect just five hits.
"Another thing that gets lost on the weekend was I thought our catchers were outstanding," Griffin said. "J.D Cowart, Greg Jones, Gooch Greer and Brett Hagenow were outstanding. Anytime your pitchers have performances like that, the catchers should get most of that credit."
Carson-Newman takes the field again Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex when the Eagles take on King at 2 p.m. The contest can be viewed on cneagles.com/live beginning at 1:50.
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