JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-7, 4-2 SAC) was unable to overcome an early Tusculum (9-9, 5-4 SAC) start, losing the series finale 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"Not good at bats today," Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "Hitting is hard, but our approach wasn't there. We were swinging out in front of breaking balls and off-speed pitches, instead of letting them travel deep. There was no approach or plan at the plate, it was almost like we were free swinging. We made a lot of mistakes in baserunning. Some rules in baserunning that we talk about and didn't do and that's disappointing because it's March. It was really encouraging to see what Andrew Bench did, he was phenomenal. What a great job he did, I was so happy for him and the three freshman that were solid at the end."
Despite the loss in the series finale, the Eagles won a ninth straight home series extending the longest such streak in program history.
Tusculum was able to scrap together two runs in the top of the first inning without recording a hit. C-N walked the bases loaded and TU managed to score a pair of runs on a fielder's choice to start the scoring. C-N almost had an inning-ending double play but failed to complete the final out at first.
"We should have turned that double play," Griffin said. "That was a momentum killer. You have to turn that, good clubs need to be able to turn that. We didn't figure out how to get through that. We have to keep working on stuff and get better."
C-N managed to get the leadoff batter aboard in innings two, four and five but stranded those runners in scoring position.
The Pioneers added on to their lead in the fifth inning. Three straight hits scored the first run of the inning on a Ben Scartz double. Murphy Flood followed with a sacrifice fly and Blaze McCauley capped the four-run frame with a two RBI double and Tusculum led 6-0 after five innings.
Carson-Newman finally got a run back in the sixth inning. In his first at bat of the day, Spencer Williams (Seymour, Tenn.) delivered a two-out single to center to make it 6-1.
A fielding error allowed C-N to get another run back in the seventh inning, as Trey Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y) scored on the play to make the score 6-2 after seven innings.
The Eagles got their first two runners aboard in the bottom of the eighth inning on a hit by pitch and a pinch-hit single from Carson Cochran. After a fielder's choice, Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) scored on an RBI groundout to trim C-N's deficit to three.
C-N got the leadoff runner aboard in the ninth inning but saw any hopes of a rally end early after Dalton McLain lined out to first, doubling up the runner.
Griffin's group managed to get the leadoff batter on base six times but failed to take advantage of those early chances. C-N recorded just one hit with runners in scoring position in 17 attempts.
Carson-Newman got quality work from reliever Andrew Bench who threw four innings of two run ball and recorded a strikeout. Jacob Overbeck, Bransen Angel, Braden Williams and Ryan Higgins all combined to blank TU in the final four innings of the game, throwing a combined 4 2/3 scoreless innings and striking out three.
Ben Scartz paced the Pioneer attack with a three-hit day. Flood drove in two runs.
Brice Anders won his third game of the season, after a third consecutive quality start throwing six innings and striking out a career-high seven batters. Seth Willis got the final three outs in the ninth for his first save.
C-N leaves the state of Tennessee for the first time this season on Friday when it travels to UVA Wise for its first conference road series of the season. First pitch from Wise, V.A is set for 5:00 p.m.
