VIDEO: Hunter Harritan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-14, 8-7 SAC) salvaged the series with Catawba (22-8, 11-4 SAC) thanks to quality pitching and a walk-off hit in the nightcap of a doubleheader to win 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"That was a salvage, and you can't get swept," Carson-Newman baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "In the first game I thought we competed well. It was 6-4 for awhile and we had some opportunities and then obviously the big hit for them opened it up. They competed to the very end which was good. Andrew Bench has given us solid starts. Against a really good hitting club, he gave us a great start. Spencer Bright did a phenomenal job all weekend, defensively he was great controlling their running game and calling pitches. We extended Hunter Harritan longer than we normally do and that was big, especially the final two innings. That was a really solid win. I'm happy for the guys."
Dalton McLain's walk-off base hit in the series finale win was the first of his C-N career and the second time C-N has won on a walk-off hit this season, both coming in extra innings in conference play.
Between both games, McLain and Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) each recorded four hits to pace Carson-Newman's offense.
Game One: Catawba 9, Carson-Newman 4
Catawba threatened in the first inning by loading the bases with one out. Blake Cooper (Maryville, Tenn.) struck out Cole Hales for the second out of the inning to bring Drew Robertson to the plate. He hit a fly ball to left field on what looked to be a routine play, but the play was not made, allowing two runs to score. Two more scored to make it a four-run first after a single up the middle.
The Indians struck for two more runs in the second inning on base knocks from Dylan Driver and Hales to make it 6-0 after two innings.
Spencer Bright provided C-N's offensive spark in the third inning. The catcher crushed his first career home run over the center field wall for his third hit of the year. The next four batters of the inning reached base and Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) singled in the second run of the inning on a base hit to right field. Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.) did a job by hitting a sacrifice fly to left field and Nicholas Castellana (Lancaster, N.Y.) singled to right center field to cap a four-run third inning.
Carson-Newman had opportunities to continue to cut into the two-run deficit. An error and a single made put runners on the corners with one out in the fourth inning, but back to back strikeouts ended the threat.
It was a similar situation in the fifth inning. Two more hits and an error put runners on the corners but the Eagles ran into an out and grounded out and the inning ended.
Catawba made the most of its opportunity to score runs in the seventh inning. A leadoff double and a walk put two runners on base for Cooper Bryson. The designated hitter hit his first home run of the season on a 1-0 pitch to extend the Indians lead. That home run was the final blow to C-N's chances of winning the middle game of the series.
After a fourth straight zero from the pitching staff, C-N put two runners on first and second with one out, but for a third time in four innings came up empty handed.
The Eagles stranded nine runners in the contest and had three innings where they stranded multiple.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 3, Catawba 2
Catawba loaded the bases in the first inning but Andrew Bench bared down and struck out Drew Robertson to blank the Indians.
Bench carried that first inning momentum to the second, where he sent down the Indians in order on five pitches.
Both sides put runners on base in innings three and four but the pitching and defense held strong and kept the contest scoreless through four frames.
Bench gave C-N four scoreless innings in his third start of the year and gave way to Hunter Harritan in the 5th. A walk followed by two singles loaded the bases with two outs in the inning and Harritan regrouped and got a strikeout to end the threat and keep game two scoreless.
The Eagles put together a threat of their own in the bottom half with a pair of walks but stranded the runners aboard.
Logan Rogers broke the scoreless tie on 3-2 one out pitch with a drive to right center to make it 2-0 Indians in the 6th. Harritan rebounded well and closed the inning with just the two runs across and his offense answered. Floyd led off with a double, Potts singled and Castellana walked to load the bases with no one out. That's when Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Trey Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y.) each hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to tie the game and answer Catawba's two runs.
The Indians loaded the bases in the 7th inning but C-N's defense made an important play. The Eagles turned a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play to keep Catawba off the board and the game tied.
C-N put runners on first and second base with one out, but was unable to break-through sending the game to extra innings.
That's when McLain delivered with a single through the right side to score the game-winning run to walk it off in extras and to salvage the final game in the series with Catawba.
Harritan recorded the final 12 outs, allowing five hits and two runs while striking a season-high five batters to earn his second win of the year. The 12 outs recorded came on 72 pitches, his longest outing of the season.
"It's all about adrenaline," Harritan said. "Every time I come set, I can see my teammates and the adrenaline I get from seeing them get fired up is what gives me the stamina to keep going. Just preparing every day at practice and knowing that if my name gets called I have to do a job for the guys."
The walk-off win in the nightcap ends C-N's four-game losing streak and puts the Eagles back above .500 in league play.
Carson-Newman returns to the field Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against Montevallo. The contest will air on the Eagle Sports Network with video available on FloSports with a paid subscription and an audio-only stream on cneagles.com/live.
