KODAK, Tenn. – Matt Bradley spun a gem and the defense behind him gunned down the tying run at the plate in the ninth to outlast Lincoln Memorial 2-1 in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championships Thursday at Smokies Stadium.
Bradley dazzled over 7 1/3 innings on the rubber giving up his first run since April 2 fanning three while scattering five hits and two walks throwing a season-high 98 pitches, the most since throwing 102 against Tusculum in the 2021 SAC Tournament.
"It was potentially the last time I could ever be out there," Bradley said. "I just wanted to leave it all out there. I give God the glory. Patrick Queener is a battler. He's good. Tip of the cap to him but I wanted to leave it all out there."
Patrick Queener had retired 11 in a row and faced the minimum through four innings before Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) laced a lead-off double down the left-field line to open the fifth. He moved to third on a fly out to deep left and scored on a wild pitch to put C-N ahead 1-0.
With two outs and a runner at second base, Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) battled back from an 0-2 hole to even the count at 2-2 before lining a single to right-center and stretch the edge to 2-0 in the seventh.
Bradley's string of 25 consecutive innings came to an end when Chris Hall grounded a single back through the middle to get the Railsplitters on the board and slice the margin in half at 2-1.
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Ryan Kurth drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the ninth. Sam Mast hit a line drive that bounced in front of a diving Ryan Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.). He popped up, barehanded the ball on the warning track, threw to Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) in short left field who threw a ball into the chest of Parkinson at the plate to get the runner at the dish and keep the Eagles on top. Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) picked up a punch out and a line out to seal his sixth save of the year.
"That was an unbelievable baseball game by both sides," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "Both pitchers, Queener and Bradley, were outstanding. The bullpens did their job. We were fortunate enough to get one more hit. Balls were hit at people. Defensive plays were made on both sides. It was a great ball game. That plate at the plate right was huge."
LMU outhit the Eagles 6-4 with Parkinson going 2-for-4 with an RBI with the club leaving six men on base for the game. LMU stranded seven going 0-for-8 with two outs.
Patrick Queener was a tough-luck loser giving up one run over six innings giving up two hits. Hall and Mast each produced a pair of knocks.
The Eagles advance to the double elimination bracket and get the No. 1 team in the country and top-seeded Wingate Friday at 11 a.m. Broadcast coverage airs on cneagles.com/live with audio and video streams available.
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