JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Strong relief pitching for Carson-Newman holds Quincy to only one run over the last five and a third innings, but it is early offense by the Hawks that guides Quincy to their third win in four games by a final of 4-0 Sunday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"The bullpen all year has been solid for us all year. Ryan Smithson is used for mid innings and then we can extend him. Grif Hughes was exceptional. Sometimes, it is the opponent which raises your game," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "Mason Mooney gave us a quality start but we left some opportunities on the offensive end."
The Hawks got on the board first in the top of the first as Lance Logsdon nailed a shot to left center for a double, but as Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) fumbled the ball in the pickup process, Quincy saw Brock Boynton come around from first to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
From there, it turned into a slight pitching duel as both staffs were held in check for the duration of just two innings.Mason Mooney (San Jose, Calif.) worked to only allow two Hawks hits and no runs while Quincy's Jay Hammell held his own as he stranded a pair of Eagles runners in the second and third inning while only allowing two Eagles hits in that timeframe.
Quincy (6-5) added a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, despite only having one hit to show for. After the bases were loaded by Mooney, it was a balk which brought home Quincy's second run of the game and making it 2-0. The next pitch saw Luke Napleton secure a sacrifice fly to deep center as he brought home the third Hawks run, as the lead moved to 3-0 and forced C-N to move to Ryan Smithson (Monroe, Ga.) in relief.
C-N saw one of their best chances to score in the bottom of the sixth as they gained a couple baserunners off two errors from Qincy's shortstop, Gino D'Alessio. Then, Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) made it bases loaded for C-N as he singled through the right side to move Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) and Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.)his teammates into scoring position.
However, it was once more Hammell shutting the door as he stranded the bases loaded as he got Daughtry to fly out to right and move C-N's runners left on base total to six.
"Bases loaded with two outs and we leave it as such. Two out hits are valuable and some people track it to show how important it can be and where it can be intensified," Griffin said.
The lead grew to four in the top of the eighth as Gino D'Alessio became the seventh different Hawk player to homer as he sent a no-doubter off Grif Hughes to left field. This broke up Hughes' streak of eight straight batters retired as Quincy would now lead 4-0.
In the bottom of the ninth, it was a walk drawn by Kilian Daughtry and a hit by pitch from Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) which put a pair of Eagles on the bases as C-N looked to mount a comeback. With the Eagles down to their last out, Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) stepped up for the first time since
However, once more, it was Quincy pitching shutting the door on C-N as Alex Pribyl struck out the side in the ninth to finalize the 4-0 victory.
Sunday marked the second time C-N had been shut out by the Hawks, as they were handed a rare home shutout in game one on Friday by a 16-0 margin.
Mason Mooney finished his day with three and two-thirds innings of work, allowing three runs (all earned) with three strikeouts off 57 pitches and 37 strikes. In relief, C-N saw Smithson come in for one and a third innings of work as he allowed one walk and fanned one Hawk with a total of 20 pitches.
However, the most notable relief outing for C-N came from the arm of Grif Hughes (Knoxville, Tenn.) as the sophomore gave the Eagles three innings of work as he fanned six while allowing one hit and an earned run off 41 pitches.
Jay Hammell saw his best outing of the 2022 season as he finished Sunday with a win off six innings as he allowed four hits, zero runs, off four strikeouts with a total of 71 pitches and 51 strikes.
"We have to get our bodies right and stay on a routine as it is Spring Break for C-N, but we also have to let the bodies refresh and prepare for these upcoming games. Little things we will work on with a good stretching session tomorrow as we have a formidable opponent in Young Harris before going on the road to King," Griffin said.
The Eagles now turn their attention to a pair of road trips as C-N will travel to face Young Harris on Tuesday and King (Tenn.) on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Tuesday from Zell B. Miller Field while the Tornado and Eagles get started with a 2:00 p.m. first pitch Wednesday at the King Baseball Field.
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