CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Trailing by as many as four runs, Carson-Newman battled back to within two and had the tying run on base in the ninth before falling 6-4 to Lee at Larry Carpenter Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
"It didn't start well giving up four in the bottom of the first," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "That put us behind. I thought there were some plays that we missed on the infield that could have given us outs. They tacked a run here and there. We could have kept it closer. Eli Norris gave us a good outing. He was really solid in his first outing. Grif Hughes, being used in more of the closer's role, was solid. We had guys come off the bench at the end that got on base for us but we left some meat on the bone earlier in the game trying to get runs."
The Eagles are still looking for their first road win of the season falling to 5-7 in the series at Lee (6-6) as Carson-Newman (5-7) had rattled off three wins in the past five affairs between the two clubs.
With one out in the opening inning, Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) sprayed a double down the left-field line moving to third on the throw back into the infield before scoring on a ground out by James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) to put the Eagles ahead 1-0.
After a double play cleared the bases in the bottom of the first, a hit batter and a single kickstarted a rally. Josiah Miller lined a two-run double to left field and Riley Black hit a 0-2 pitch over the right-center field fence to cap a four-run first and put the Eagles behind by three.
In the top of the second, the Eagles got a run back with a two-out hit of their own. Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.) lined a base hit to right field with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Will Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) singled up the middle to trim the deficit to two at 4-2.
Noah Hattier started the bottom of the fifth with a base hit to center field and was at third base with two outs. Cam Suto shoveled a 1-2 offering into center field to get the margin back to three runs at 5-2. The Flames tacked on another in the sixth off of a wild pitch to make it a four-run game for the first time.
Carson-Newman mounted its rally in the top of the ninth inning loading the bases with one out on a walk and two singles in a row. An error and a sacrifice fly brought in a pair of runs before a bouncer to second base sealed a 6-4 differential.
Potts and Gibbs each posted a pair of the seven hits for the game. Once again the Eagles' bullpen pitched well giving up two earned runs over five innings scatterings six hits and a pair of walks.
Three Flames produced a pair of knocks with Black going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Lee's bullpen surrendered one earned run over 6 1/3 innings punching out four batters.
The Eagles continue their road swing with a trip to Pennsylvania starting on Saturday with a doubleheader against California to begin a three-game series against the Vulcans.
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