JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Behind timely hitting and a strong starting outing by Matt Bradley, Carson-Newman avenged a 14-3 result in the first game of its doubleheader to take game two from Quincy 9-3 in the night cap over the Hawks on Saturday at Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
For the day, Carson-Newman (11-9) was led offensively by Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.). In game one, Boze led the charge with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate as he plated all three C-N runs in the loss. In game two, it was Carpenter going 2-3 with a pair of RBIs including his first homer of the season.
"Boze has had some good approaches all weekend as he has been driving the ball well and the big thing came from Luke Goforth in game two," head coach Tom Griffin stated. "We even said yesterday about what we want to be and play with energy and passion as the game is 0-0. You have to train to have the same mindset no matter if the score is a big blowout or a one-run game. You have to have guys in the dugout who believe in this and get the teammates to believe in this."
Game One: QUINCY 14, Carson-Newman 3
Game one of the doubleheader started off strong for Carson-Newman as they collected their first lead of the series in the bottom of the first. Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) added another hit to his season total before it was Zach Boze finding the groove for a deep shot to center, making it 2-0 in favor of the home team.
Second inning woes once again plagued Carson-Newman as the Hawks totaled six runs in the top of the second. Lance Logsdon got the Hawks bats rolling as he started off the inning with a single through the right side. He was followed in offense by Gino D'Alessio who doubled to right center and then Tyler Simpson would walk to load the bases. After Tyler Dreher struck out, the floodgates were open as Luke Napleton doubled to left field, scoring both D'Alessio and Logsdon to get the Hawks on the board and make it 2-2. However, it was Joe Roscetti who blew the game wide open as for the second straight game, Quincy hit a grand slam and made it 6-0.
The third inning saw Quincy pile onto their lead as they added three more runs in the top of the third. After a groundout produced by Corey Wilson, Quincy struck early and often as Andrew Simpson put the Hawks on the board with a homer to center field. From there, Quincy added another pair of runs after a Tyler Dreher walk and an absolute moonshot by Luke Napleton to make it a three-run third off three hits to make it 9-0.
Carson-Newman got one run back in the bottom of the third as Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) extended his season hit streak with a single before advancing to second off an error by Quincy's shortstop. It was once again Boze stepping up for the Eagles as he singled up the middle, bringing home Griffin and adding to C-N's run total.
Then, in the fourth inning, it was another five Hawks crossing the plate as the deficit bulged to 13-2 for the visitors. The inning started as Logsdon reached on an error by C-N's Boze before advancing on a wild pitch to get into scoring position. He would advance to third after D'Alessio singled through the right side to move Logsdon to third. The bases became loaded after Simpson would garner a walk.
Tyler Dreher got the first Hawks run of the fourth inning across after singling through the left side. However, only a couple pitches later, Luke Napleton was at it again as he notched Quincy's second grand slam of game one to make the lead 14-2 for the Hawks.
After Quincy notched the lead to 14-3, it was a pitching battle which held both teams scoreless for the remainder of game one. Most notably, Carson-Newman saw Jake Shamblin (Athens, Tenn.) provide three innings of relief, allowing only one hit with three putouts off 38 total pitches.
For Quincy, it was the starter Griffin Kirn who shined in game one as he went seven innings with four hits, three runs (all earned), seven strikeouts off 100 total pitches.
"Hitters and all players need to have short memory because you might be 0-3 and coming up with runners in scoring position and need to lock it back in. Andrew Carpenter may not have shown it in the final stats but hit the ball extremely hard today," Griffin said.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 9, Quincy 3
It would once more be the second inning which got a team started offensively, but this time around it was C-N gaining the edge. After Henry Jackson singled up the middle and advanced on a failed pickoff by Quincy, it was Jordan Griffin bringing his teammate home to give C-N an early 1-0 lead.
"The first two games were both uphill battles, even like on Mount Everest. Total uphill battle to climb and too much runs to overcome. As a team you need someone or something to break that up and it always ends up being the guy on the hill," Griffin said. "In the seven-inning game, Matt Bradley gave us the start we needed against a really good hitting club who is very strong and Bradley gave us a start which allows us to stay in the game."
Quincy would push across two runs in the top of the third and retake the lead off back-to-back homers from Dayson Croes and Nolan Wosman to lead 2-1. However, the Eagles responded with a pair of their own in the bottom of the inning off Andrew Carpenter's first homer of the season before Henry Jackson brought in Luke Goforth with a knock right back up the middle, making it 3-2 for C-N.
The Eagles added two more in the fifth to swell the lead to 6-2. With Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) and Kilian Daughtry on base, Luke Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) came out and delivered a perfectly placed hit to right center to plate both Eagles and making the score 6-2. Quincy would respond with a run of their own off a wild pitch as Brock Boynton came across to make it 6-3.
"This is a guy who may not have a lot of at-bats, but big situation, he stepped up and resembled his brother (Ethan). It may not always be the prettiest, but he's a gamer and a competitor," Griffin said. "We will take that mindset over style any day."
Then, in the bottom of the sixth, the lead bulged to 9-3 off a three-run, four hit inning by the Eagles. Henry Jackson got it started with a single through the right side before Gunnar Ricketts doubled to advance Jackson to third and put both in scoring position. After Jordan Griffin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Zach Boze scored Jackson on a sacrifice fly to center.
From there, Andrew Carpenter singled to left field to score Ricketts as the speedy Griffin moved to second before being brought in by a Micah Genter hit right up the middle as the score read 9-3 in favor of the Eagles.
Matt Bradley (Talbott, Tenn.) gave C-N a quality five and a third innings, allowing five hits and three runs (all earned) off 81 total tosses. Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) finished off the night with one and two-thirds inning of work, allowing zero hits and no runs while striking out a pair off 33 total pitches.
"We need to take it one pitch at a time and don't need to do anything different from how we've trained and prepared for this," Griffin stated. "It now becomes about the mental and physical side of the ball with athletes making sure their bodies are in good shape and fresh while mentally are in a good place. It has been great to be at home these last few weeks."
The Eagles are home for one last time as the four-game series ends against the Quincy Hawks as first pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. Sunday from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
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