MARS HILL, N.C. – For the eighth straight South Atlantic Conference game, the Carson-Newman Eagles (9-12, 6-10 SAC) dropped a league contest. The Mars Hill Lions (5-12, 1-9 SAC) defeated the Eagles 4-2 in Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
"We are right there in games," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "They got the big hit in a big spot and unfortunately for us, we just are not executing in those big situations. There are certain times in the game where we are going to have to bear down a little more. We just have to find a way to create breaks for ourselves."
The Eagles lit the scoreboard first in their first at-bat. Sophomore second basemen Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) singled into centerfield to begin the opening frame. After a bunt single by senior leftfielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and senior first basemen Evan Jurjevic (New Carlisle, Ind.) was hit by a pitch, junior third basemen punched a single through the hole on the left side of the infield with two outs to plate Lynch and make it a 1-0 game.
Mars Hill tied the score at one in the bottom of the second inning when Lance Edwards looped a single down the rightfield line to bring the home team's first run of the contest.
Jurjevic helped put the Eagles back on top in the top of the fifth frame as the senior first basemen hammered his first triple of the season to rightfield with one out. The next batter, freshman designated hitter Joe Rotelli (Morganville, N.J.), singled to back up the middle to put Carson-Newman in front 2-1.
The Lions gained their first lead of the day in the bottom of the seventh stanza. A leadoff walk issued to Dalton Eisenbath began the inning. The next two batters were retired before Edwards reached on an infield single. The second walk of the inning issued by Eagle starting pitcher Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio) loaded the bases. Evan Rogers notched his fourth hit of the day, a single to rightfield, to plate two runs and put Mars Hill on top 3-2.
Dylan Powers began the home half of the eighth inning with a double to the gap in right followed by a single to leftfield by David King to put runners at the corners. Griffin went to the bullpen to call upon senior righty Michael Cogliano (Medford, N.J.). Alex Zachary pinch hit and flew out to centerfield to plate Powers for an insurance run and put Mars Hill ahead 4-2.
Roberts and Rotelli each tallied a pair of hits and an RBI as the Eagles were outhit 11-9 on the day.
Yocom took the loss for just the second time this season and the first time since his second start of the year on February 13 at Brevard. The righty went seven innings yielding four earned runs on 11 hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
Carson-Newman and Mars Hill wrap up the three-game series with a doubleheader scheduled for Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. The game can be heard by tuning into the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
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