JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 22 Carson-Newman scored at least three runs six times in 14 innings outscoring Davis & Elkins 27-9 winning 15-4 and 12-5 against the Senators Sunday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"I don't think we played well," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "You can look at scores and all that but as coaches you look inside the things. Our at-bats were not good. We struck out 18 times today. I don't think our approaches – what happened was the wind created a swing for us trying to get it up and out of here. We were trying to see how far we could hit the ball. I want us to have a high expectation on what we do each and every single day. Our bullpen has done a tremendous job. It really has."
Winning its 13th game this month, Carson-Newman (13-3) has its highest win total in any month since going 17-2 in March 2010. The Eagles have defeated Davis & Elkins (0-6) in all four the meetings between the two schools scoring double digits three times.
Griffin's crew had three, three-run or better scoring innings in each game while putting up seven runs in the eighth inning in game one for its highest scoring stanza of the season.
Malik Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) went 2-for-6 on the day with four runs scored while driving in a run. The junior has reached base safely in 13 games in-a-row and 15 of the 16 on the season.
"Working with coach Griffin in the cage each and day and not taking a day off," Kyle said. "My backside approach has become a lot more mature. I've become a more mature hitter. There's a lot of competition at Walters State. Every coming in is inching for a job. You have to compete to play. That competitive nature at Walters State helped me out. When I came here there are a lot of people at first base and the competition enhanced my game even more."
. @malikkyle16 delivers a double to drive in @EthanG5
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 24, 2019
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GAME ONE: CARSON-NEWMAN 15, Davis & Elkins 4
Ethan Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) hit a rocket back up the box for a single to lead off the bottom of the first inning. After a punch out, Malik Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) flew a ball to deep left field over the head of Shawn Pass give the Eagles a 1-0 edge.
Three consecutive singles from the Senators in the top of the second inning tied the tally as a David Caldwell infield single brought in Connor Fitzgerald.
With men at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the third, Goforth hit a chopper to the shortstop who bobbled the baseball allowing Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) to score and put C-N back on top at 2-1.
A walk and a hit batter were sandwiched around two punch outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Michael Wroth (Chicopee, Mass.) flared a base hit into left field to bring home Goforth advancing to second on the throw. Marcos Feria came out of the bullpen throwing his first pitch to the backstop scoring a run. The catcher, David Caldwell, threw home and chucked it down the line to plate Wroth and stretch the lead to 5-1.
Who other than @MikeWroth? The Eagles top run producer does it with timely two-out hitting.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 24, 2019
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After adding three in seventh, Carson-Newman burst for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth. With two runs already in, Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) stepped to the dish with the bases loaded and ambushed the first grand slam of his career over the fence in left field. On the next pitch, Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) blasted a solo bomb to left field expanding the bulge to 15-1.
Davis & Elkins scrapped together three runs in the top of the ninth inning with no one out to produce the final tally.
Daughtry finished the game with a career-high six RBIs going 2-for-4 coming off of the bench. Goforth went 3-for-3 with four runs scored from the lead-off spot in the lineup. 10 different Eagles scored on the day with nine notching hits and eight driving in runs.
Greg Valentine (Knoxville, Tenn.) earned his fifth win of the season on the bump striking out a career-high seven over six innings allowing one earned run on six hits and two walks.
Each of the three pitchers for the Senators allowed at least a run as Brent McMillion (0-2) took the loss despite punching out nine batters. He allowed five runs, three earned on six hits and two walks.
Justin Worley went 3-for-4 out of the seven spot in the lineup and Connor Fitzgerald had two hits and two runs scored.
GAME TWO: CARSON-NEWMAN 12, Davis & Elkins 5
Chase Degrood hit the fifth pitch of the game, a 2-2 offering, down the line in left field sneaking inside of the pole for a solo homer to give the Senators their first lead of the day at 1-1. Back-to-back singles followed before Dalton Long (Powell, Tenn.) punched out a pair and induced a ground out to escape the jam.
With a runner at second base and two outs in the top of the second, Degrood hit a fly ball to left field that turned Campbell around as he dropped the ball allowing a run to score. Tanner Wickham single to right field on the next pitch to score Degrood pushing the differential to 3-0.
After loading the bases with no one out in the first and not scoring in the first, the Eagles scored four times in the second to take a 4-3 advantage. A sacrifice fly and a run pulled the home side within a run with two outs. Kyle and Thompson followed with back-to-back doubles to tie the score. After a hit batter, Wroth flared a single to left to score Thompson and cap the frame.
A hit batter, a stolen base and a two-out double down the third-base line by Troy McMillion knotted the score at four in the top of the third.
Carson-Newman sent 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the third scoring five times to push the bulge to 9-4. The big blow in the inning was a two-out RBI triple hit by Jordan Griffin (Ellersie, Ga.) to the fence in center field that just missed the glove of a leaping Worley.
Two-straight RBI doubles from Charlie Brown (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Cal Smith (Keller, Texas) scored a pair as Smith came across on a wild pitch in the sixth giving the Eagles a 12-4 lead.
Worley blasted a solo home run to left-center field on a 0-2 offering with two outs in the top of the seventh to complete the scoring. He ended the day with five hits over the twin-bill scoring three times.
Thompson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored reaching base all four times he went to the dish. Silva notched his second-career multi-hit effort going 2-for-3.
Carson-Newman's bullpen threw four innings allowing two hits and two walks with one run while striking out eight as Kyle Cagle (Fairview, N.C.) throwing a scoreless fourth.
The Eagles begin a five-game road trip starting Wednesday afternoon with a journey to Belmont Abbey starting at 3 p.m. from Abbey Yard. Broadcast coverage can be found on cneagles.com/live on the Eagle Sports Network.
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