KODAK, Tenn. – Wingate scored its first six runs with two outs to stave off elimination and beat Carson-Newman in the four versus five matchup 8-2 Monday in the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Baseball Championships at Smokies Stadium. The Eagles will turn around and play third-seeded Newberry at 1:45 p.m. for a right to play the Bulldogs for the title on Monday.
Mason Mooney (San Jose, Calif.) retired the first seven batters of the game before Carson Simpson dribbled a base hit back up the box with one out in the third. After a foul out, McCann Mellett launched a 3-1 pitch into the grass down the right-field line to put the 'Dogs ahead 2-0.
Mellett was hit by a pitch to open the sixth inning but was standing at second base with two outs. Jed Bryant ripped a ball off of Mooney's outstretched wrist as the ball trickled through the middle infield to get Mellett home and push the lead out to 3-0.
With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) crushed a 3-2 pitch over the two runs of picnic tables in left field to trim the margin to 3-1.
Once again in the seventh, the Bulldogs scored with two outs. After a liner glanced off of a glove at third base with two down, Justin Guy ambushed the first pitch launching it to left field for a two-run homer, his first of the year, to make it a 5-1 affair.
The Eagles crawled back to a 5-2 tally in the seventh when Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) hit a 0-1 pitch off of the black panels above the wall in left field just out of the reach of the glove of the left fielder. Initially it was ruled a triple before replay overturned the call for a home run.
Wingate promptly pushed it back to a four-run game mounting a two-out rally with a single and a walk to set the stage for Andrew McKay to lace a single to center field and make it a 6-2 affair.
One out deep into the ninth, Mellett cranked his second homer of the game and fifth against the Eagles blasting a 1-2 pitch into the grass in right field. The Bulldogs tacked on a run on a ground out to secure an 8-2 advantage.
Mooney notched his second quality start of the year firing six stanzas giving up three earned runs on four hits striking out two throwing 77 pitches taking his third loss of the year.
Thompson finished the game with a 3-for-4 line and the homer with Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) adding a pair of hits but the club went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Austin Mitchell hurled the first complete game of his career needing 101 pitches as he scattered nine hits and a walk while fanning a pair and giving up two earned runs improving his record to 3-1 on the season.
Mellett continued his hot hitting against the Eagles going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored breaking up what was a 1-for-11 start to the tournament. Simpson added a pair of hits and two runs scored. Six of the team's 10 hits came with two outs.
The Eagles and the Wolves take flight at 1:45 p.m. on Monday from Smokies Stadium in an elimination game that will set the stage for the championship. It airs on cneagles.com/live for the live video and audio streams or through the South Atlantic Conference app using your Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV. Ticket information can be found here with daily tickets and entire weekend packages available for purchase.
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