YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Matt Parkinson cranked a pair of home runs including a game-tying blast with one out in the ninth but it was overshadowed by a walk-off shot by Young Harris in a 7-5 decision over Carson-Newman on Wednesday at Zell B. Miller Field.
Most of the action happened early or late with runs score in each of the first three half innings and each of the final three half frames with two total runs scoring in the middle 12 at bats. Carson-Newman (25-21) wraps up its non-conference schedule 15-11 as Young Harris (29-14) handed the Eagles their fifth road loss of the season.
Each of the first two batters for coach Tom Griffin's team reached to open the game scoring on a base hit to left field by Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and a sacrifice fly from Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) putting the visitors ahead 2-0.
Young Harris responded immediately putting up three runs in bottom of the frame to put the Mountain Lions ahead 3-2. After a sacrifice fly, Rome Wallace tied the score with a base knock into left field before a Mark Castle sacrifice fly put the club ahead.
Two pitches into the second Parkinson leveled the terms cranking a 0-1 offering down the left-field line to tie the margin at three apiece.
C-N regained the lead in the third as Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) drew a walk to open the inning, stealing second base and moving to third on a wild pitch before touching home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Parkinson to put the group back ahead 4-3.
After a sacrifice fly tied the margin at four in the fifth, the Mountain Lions seized the lead in the eighth with a one-out fly out by Castle to give the home crew a 5-4 edge.
Griffin grounded to third to begin the ninth before Parkinson turned on a 1-1 pitch blasting it out of the yard to left to equalize the score at five.
In the bottom of the ninth, the first batter was retired before a hit batter set the stage for Noah Fitzgerald to pummel a 2-1 pitch out of the yard to right-center field in front of the scoreboard to secure a Young Harris win.
Parkinson finished his day 2-for-2 with a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored. Travis was the only other player with a multi-hit performance going 2-for-4.
Young Harris tallied 11 hits with nine from the top five batters in the lineup including Fitzgerald who tallied a 2-for-4 game with three RBIs and a run scored. The team's bullpen yielded one hit and gave up two runs over six innings.s
The Eagles put a bow on the regular season this weekend with a road trip to Anderson in the final South Atlantic Conference games of 2022.
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