VIDEO: Noah Pridmore Interview
VIDEO: Harrison Travis Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Down to its final nine outs in game two, Carson-Newman (9-6, 4-1 SAC) rallied from down 8-0 to sweep Tusculum (8-9, 4-4 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
Carson-Newman's comeback matches the biggest come from behind win since facing the same deficit against Brevard back on March 26, 2010, winning that game 15-13.
The comeback secured the Eagles a ninth straight home series win dating back to the beginning of last season. The Eagles won the first game 3-2 and the second of a doubleheader 10-8. All four of C-N's SAC wins are by two runs or less. Seven of its nine wins this year are by two runs or less as well.
The series win over TU is the first series win at home over the Pioneers since 2013.
"When your down like that, nobody is going to sit there and say we knew we were going to comeback," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "As a coach, you just the guys to put good at bats together and follow them up. One, that's the only way to get back in the game with runners on. Two, you are also trying to build for tomorrow. It's tough when your down like that and you need some help. Unfortunately for them there was some command issue and allowed some freebies. We got some key hits and I'm really happy for Harrison Travis because he has struggled a little bit this year. He had a really good day and that was a big hit for us."
Game One: Carson-Newman 3, Tusculum 2
Noah Pridmore got in a groove early for C-N. The right-hander struck out four TU hitters through the first two innings.
Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) recorded C-N's first hit of the contest on a leadoff double to start the second, but he was left aboard there.
After a leadoff hit by pitch, Zach Wilson singled through the right side with two outs to put TU up 1-0.
The Eagles' bats would come alive in the bottom of the third. They did their damage with two outs in the frame. With a runner at second, Spencer Williams doubled down the left field line to score Cole Nathan (Knoxville, Tenn.) from second and tie the game at one. Two pitches later, James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) roped 1-0 fastball over the right field wall to cap a three-run third inning for the Eagles.
The middle innings 4-7 were controlled by both pitching staffs. Pridmore blanked the Pioneers in the fifth inning, escaping a bases loaded jam, getting Jake Absher pop out and end the inning.
After a pair of strikeouts to start the inning, Pridmore walked back to back hitters on 3-2 pitches to give TU life in the sixth. Grif Hughes (Knoxville, Tenn.) took the ball from Pridmore and struck out Luis Reyes on five pitches put up another zero.
Hughes retired the first five batters he faced, four of which came via the punchout. Back-to-back one-out hits for TU in the eighth inning made it a one-run game entering the ninth inning. After retiring the first two hitters, Hughes gave up a two-out single giving way to Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) who recorded the final out of the game on just two pitches.
Pridmore's career-high nine strikeouts paved the way for C-N's pitching staff to turn in a quality game one performance. He allowed just one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings on the mound to record his second win of the season.
"Credit to them, that's a good hitting team," Pridmore said. "My stuff was working today. I've been practicing hard and the guys behind me got the job done. It was a really clean game, which we have struggled with in the past. Today, was big and everything was working well behind me. It was a big day for us."
Game Two: Carson-Newman 10, Tusculum 8
The second game of the twin bill saw TU jump out to an eight-run advantage. The first three hitters of the second inning reached for TU, which helped score three runs on just one base hit.
C-N recorded just one hit through the first three innings before seeing the Pioneers extend their lead in the fourth. All of TU's damage in the inning came with two outs. Two singles and a walk helped load the bases. A hit by pitch and two singles completed a four-run fourth and Tusculum led 8-0 after four innings.
The Eagles would find an offensive groove in the fifth. A leadoff walk followed by a pair of singles loaded the bases for Will Gibbs who singled through the left side to score a run. Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) followed with a double into the left-center field gap to plate two more runs and cut the deficit to 8-3 after five innings. Both Gibbs and McLain's RBI knocks came on 3-2 pitches.
After a 1-2-3 top of the sixth, C-N had momentum and took advantage of opportunities in the bottom half. Travis singled to begin the inning and then back to back walks drawn by Carson Cochran and Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) loaded the bases with no one out. Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn) stepped up and singled through the left side to score a pair of runners to make it 8-5. A four-pitch walk loaded the bases once again with still nobody out. Next batter Gibbs, worked a seven-pitch walk to make it 8-6. That sequence was followed by a wild pitch to make it a one-run game.
TU made a pitching change and Caid Sanders got McLain to ground out to shortstop for the first out of the inning but that knock plated another run to tie the game. C-N batted around in the inning and Travis came up with the clutch hit. The graduate student poked a ball into left-center field to score the go-ahead runs and record his fifth career triple.
"It was awesome," Travis said. "Obviously, I haven't been having the best season. My teammates, coaches, family and friends, I know those people always have my back. Going up to the plate knowing that, and having teammates like I do, it's awesome. You can't ask for anything more."
Travis finished with four hits, two in each game and recorded two most important RBI's of the day.
Harritan came in to pitch the seventh inning and sent the Pioneers down in order to record his third save of the season and second of the day. Brock Culpepper (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) earned his second win of the season throwing two relief innings allowing just one run.
Drew Sliwinski took the loss, struggling with his command. The right-hander recorded just two outs and walked four batters, allowing six runs.
Wilson paced TU hitting with four hits in the two games and drove in a run.
The Eagles wrap up their three-game with Tusculum tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Fans can watch the game on FloSports with a paid subscription and an audio-only stream is available on cneagles.com/live.
