HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin earned the 500th win of his Carson-Newman tenure as the Eagles came from behind in their final at bat to salvage the series finale 4-3 after falling 9-7 in Sunday's game one at Schmotzer Stadium against Coker in South Atlantic Conference play.
"Yesterday was a disaster," Carson-Newman coach said. "It was nice to come back and win the finale. We were outplayed in all facets this weekend. Mason Mooney had a good start and we fell behind but Jake Wright did a great job in relief. We got some big hits there at the end. We weren't putting balls in play. The key is they hung on after a long weekend and they got the win. It got us to fourth place in the league. Give credit to Coker this weekend. They did a great job playing aggressive and we didn't respond well to it. Denten had a big hit. Spencer Williams did a good job with his at bats."
In his 18th season on the bench at Mossy Creek, Griffin recorded the 500th win as the team's skipper and 681st overall as a college coach. Among active Division II coaches, he ranks 27th in career victories and seventh among Southeast Region leaders.
Carson-Newman (24-21, 15-8) finishes the SAC slate with single digit losses in year with at least 10 games played for the first time since going 15-9 in 2010. By winning percentage, this year's group posted a .652 tally, the best by the program since winning 70 percent in 2008 going 14-6.
Game One: COKER 9, Carson-Newman 7
With two outs and a runner aboard in the bottom of the first, Kody Hanna ripped an RBI triple to right field before scoring on a double by Donovan Frayer to build an early 2-0 edge for the home side.
Two Carson-Newman errors allowed three runs to score in the bottom of the third making the deficit 5-0. With two men on base, Frayer laid down a sacrifice bunt attempt to the pitcher that was airmailed trying to get the runner at third base. Hanna stole third as the throw went into left field allowing him to score. A sacrifice fly capped the stanza.
Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) ripped a two-out RBI double to left field in the top of the third inning before the Eagles tied the score at five with four runs in the fourth. Nelson Smith (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) split the gap in right-center field to bring in a pair before scoring on a ground out. McLain tied the margin with a base hit to right field with two outs.
With one out in the bottom of the sixth, the Cobras loaded the bases breaking the tie on a wild pitch on a fastball down and in putting the Eagles behind at 6-5.
Will Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) drew a lead-off walk in the top of the eighth moving around to third base on a single to right by Spencer Williams (Seymour, Tenn.). Smith drove a liner to left bringing in Gibbs on a sacrifice fly to knot the margin at six.
After retiring the first batter and getting ahead of the second 0-2, two straight hit batters put two men on base in the bottom of the eighth. Following a pop out, Hanna ripped a two-run double before Frayer singled to center making it a 9-6 contest.
Mitchell Balint (Avondale, Pa.) started the ninth with a single. After a fly out, McLain ripped a double to bring the tying run to the plate. The Eagles brought in a run on a ground out before a bouncer to first ended the game.
McLain led a C-N offense that produced three more hits than the Snakes going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Three other Eagles tallied multi-hit games and Smith drove in three runs. The bullpen allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings striking out one.
Hanna paced the home team's offense going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored while Frayer tacked on a pair of hits driving in three.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 4, Coker 3
Cameron Ferrell doubled to left field one out deep into the first frame advancing to third base on a ground out before scoring on a passed ball to give the home crew a 1-0 edge.
Back-to-back singles opened the bottom of the fifth. After a sacrifice bunt, a passed ball sent the runner towards the plate. A generous bounce allowed for a play at the dish but the ball was dropped. Coker added a sacrifice fly to push the lead out to 3-0.
After stranding the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, the Eagles broke through in the sixth getting a run on a ground out to second base by Gibbs trimming the score to 3-1.
In the seventh, an error and a base hit to right-center field put the tying run on base with no outs. A sacrifice bunt put the runners in scoring position before James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) grounded a base hit into right field to tie the score. McLain singled after a strikeout to put men at the corners. Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) hit a grounder that kicked off of the third baseman to score the go-ahead run.
Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) fired two flawless frames closing out the game with just 16 pitches for his third win of the season.
McLain posted two more knocks and Denten drove in a pair as the Eagles drew four walks and posted five hits in the finale.
Cody Chapman allowed one run on one hit and four walks in the start for the Snakes but the bullpen surrendered three runs on four hits getting five outs.
The Eagles finish the year fourth in the league standings and will be heading to Newberry for the four-team bracket starting with a matchup against Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday at 3 p.m.
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