JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Every Carson-Newman starter tallied a hit as the Eagles scored in each of the final seven innings to take home a 14-7 Opening Day victory over Mars Hill on Wednesday at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"It was good to play after all the rain that we've had," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "I thought defensively we played really solid. Mason Mooney gave us a great start with four innings. Really happy to see him compete the way he did especially after the home run. Mitch [Balint] did a great job calling the game for him and settling him down. I thought we did an exceptional job with two-strike hitting and putting balls with runners in scoring position."
Carson-Newman (1-0) has rattled off 11 straight wins in home openers and improves to 26-4 in the first home affair of the season since joining the Division II ranks in 1994. The Eagles have won six in a row over Mars Hill (0-1), the longest streak over the Lions since winning 12 in a row from 2001-04.
Every hitter in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit with five tallying multi-hit games and six players reaching base at least three times in the affair. The Eagles went 9-for-24 with runners in scoring position.
Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored from the top of the lineup. Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) launched a pair of home runs driving in four out of the cleanup spot in the lineup. Ben Willcoxon (Dandridge, Tenn.) was on base four times. Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) tallied two hits in his collegiate debut.
"It's baseball," Gibson said. "I know I'm young and haven't proved that much here yet but I've played this game my whole life. I went out there and breathed and played the same game I've always played."
After Zach Weaver homered to lead-off the second inning for the Lions, Boze responded back with a solo blast of his own in the bottom of the second. The Eagles added three more in the frame on a two-run poke to right by William Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) and a base hit to center from Willcoxon.
Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.) added an RBI single in the third to push the lead to 5-1. Mars Hill pulled a run back in the top of the fourth before Mitchell Balint (Mt Prospect, Ill.) got it back to a four-run margin with a one-out RBI single in the fourth.
With two outs and two men on, Jackson lined a ball to the wall on an 0-2 pitch in the fifth extending the margin to 8-2 after five frames.
Mars Hill mounted a charge over the next two innings tacking on three in the sixth and two in seventh as C-N sandwiched a run in between to cling a 9-7 margin at stretch time.
In the bottom of the seventh, Boze connected on a 1-0 pitch launching a three-run homer over the left-center field wall to get the lead back to five at 12-7.
The Eagles sent eight men to the plate in the eighth scoring twice more on hits from Jackson and Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) to settle the score at 14-7.
Mason Mooney (San Jose, Calif.) earned the win firing four innings of two-run baseball before Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) put the finishing touches on the game getting the final seven outs.
Weaver led the visitors with a 3-for-5 day driving in two runs and Jordan Lathe tacked on three pokes and two runs scored. Mars Hill shuffled through eight pitchers, six of which allowed runs.
The Eagles return to action this weekend venturing to USC Aiken for a three-game series starting on Friday at 4 p.m.
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