JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – To open its first home South Atlantic Conference series of the 2019 season, No. 25 Carson-Newman was outhit 27-12 falling 14-5 and 4-3 Sunday afternoon to Lincoln Memorial at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex snapping the Eagles six-game SAC regular season winning streak and five-game home streak.
"We didn't do a good job on the mound from the get-go," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We weren't good on the mound, walks, location not great. They did a good job putting balls in play. It's a good hitting club. You have to get ahead and be able to paint corners. That put us behind and they have a guy like Elliott on the mound, you have to battle and they did."
The six-game sequence against the league was the longest in six years as Carson-Newman (17-6, 2-2) has lost 13 of the last 14 games against Lincoln Memorial (14-8, 6-2) dropping a series for the seventh-straight series.
Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) paced the Eagles by going 2-for-5 on the day with two walks, two RBIs and three runs scored. As a roster, C-N hit .200 on the day reaching base at a .304 clip.
Nate Stinson went 6-for-9 with four RBIs to lead the Railsplitters in hits but Seth Hunt paced the group in run production with three blasts and eight runs driven in. Of the seven pitchers used, five did not allow a run.
GAME ONE: LINCOLN MEMORIAL 14, Carson-Newman 5
An infield single and a base knock to center field with one out put two men aboard for the 'Splitters in the top of the first. After a diving catch in right by Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.), Stinson smacked a single back up the middle to put the visitors on top 1-0.
With runners at the corners and two outs, Stinson hit a smash that bounced off of the infield grass and off of the outstretched glove of John Sharpe (Franklin, Tenn.) at second base to expand the margin to 2-0.
Genter delivered the first hit of the game for the Eagles with one out in the bottom of the third inning flaring a double down the right-field line. Three pitches later on a 0-2 offering, Ethan Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) launched his sixth homer of the season over the wall in left field to knot the tally at two.
One swing, tie ball game! @EthanG_3 muscles up for the 6️⃣th time this season! ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 10, 2019
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Bot 3rd
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LMU wasted no time regaining the lead with Will Reddick cranking a 1-0 pitch to start the fourth well over the center field fence. Dalton Dedas added an RBI single to center to make it 4-2.
The Railsplitters burst for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning sending 12 men to the plate swelling the bulge to 11-2. The big blow of the stanza was a grand slam to left field by Hunt.
Carson-Newman scored three times in the bottom of the fifth on run-producing knocks from Genter, Goforth and Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) cutting the deficit to 11-5.
Hunt blasted his second homer in as many innings on a 2-2 delivery with two outs in the top of the sixth, a two-run shot. Two innings later, Hunt launched a solo blast for the fifth three-homer day in program history to expand the differential to 14-5.
Goforth led the way offensively by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Genter notched his third multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Thompson added two hits.
Of the six pitchers used on the day by C-N, five gave up at least one run with Austin Conner (Sevierville, Tenn.) being the lone exception firing a flawless ninth with two punch outs.
The Raisplitters cranked out 20 hits in the game, the most allowed by the Eagles in 84 games and 694 days when Wingate had 21 on April 25, 2017. As a team, the crew went 8-for-22 with runners in scoring position in the game.
Seven of the visitors had at least two hits on the day with Hunt leading the way by going 3-for-6 with seven RBIs and three runs scored. Four players had at least three pokes with Stinson leading the charge with four.
Reigning SAC Pitcher of the Year Ethan Elliott improved to 4-2 on the season by firing 5 2/3 innings striking out eight allowing five runs, three earned on seven hits and two walks.
GAME TWO: LINCOLN MEMORIAL 4, Carson-Newman 3
For the second-straight game, the 'Splitters scored first getting back-to-back RBI singles with one out by Chris Salvey and Stinson making it 2-0 before the Eagles hit the back rack.
Dalton Dedas led off the top of the third with an infield single back up the middle and moved to third base on two ground outs. Stinson lined a 1-0 pitch into right field to bring in Dedas a move the score to 3-0.
Matt Mullenbach had allowed a hit batter and a single enter the bottom of the sixth before walking two and giving up a hit to load the bases with one out. He punched out the next batter before Griffin dumped a base hit over the second baseman to cut the deficit to a run at 3-2.
Matt Bradley (Tablott, Tenn.) had retired 12 straight when he issued a two-out walk to Stucky in the top of the seventh inning. Hunt followed by pounding a ball off of the wall in left field to get a valuable insurance run.
.@Mattcbradley punches out his third Railsplitter as he sets down the side in order. C-N in need of a few runs.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 10, 2019
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A throwing error and a wild pitch put Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) to get to third base with one out. Genter grounded out to second base to make it a 4-3 game before Devin Morris picked up a strikeout to end the game.
C-N lost the battle in the hit column 7-3 as the team was retired in order three times. In his first start of the year, Bradley went 6 2/3 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks with seven punch outs.
"Bradley was tremendous," Griffin said. "He did a good job. Gave up a couple runs early but gave us a chance to get in the ball game. All you want is a chance. We had two innings where we had a chance."
Mullenbach took home the win going six innings of three-run, two earned, three-hit, three-walk baseball with eight strikeouts.
Dalton Dedas and Stinson each collected a pair of hits for the road club on the day.
The clubs finish up the series Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex with the game airing on the Eagle Sports Network.
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