SALISBURY, N.C. – Carson-Newman erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning to overcome a deficit for the second time in as many days beating seventh-ranked Catawba 9-5 in the first game before dropping the second 12-2 in South Atlantic Conference play at Newman Park on Sunday.
"Corey Wilson did a nice job keep battling so we didn't have to go into the bullpen early in the first game. Tyler Shaver was awesome once we got the lead. At the plate, our two-strike hitting was critical to get into their bullpen. It was a big factor for us and nice win.
"We didn't have a great flow in game two. We wanted to go with a staff and piece the game together but we made some mistakes and were not clean defensively or behind the dish so we couldn't get a good flow going. No one likes to lose but on the road, at Catawba, a place we haven't had success I am really proud that we overcame two deficits to get wins. We learned about ourselves as a team that gives us confidence moving forward."
Carson-Newman (7-4, 2-2) had lost each of the six series against nationally-ranked teams in its Division II history improving to 8-10 against top 25 clubs over the last seven years. The Eagles had dropped 14 of the last 17 meetings with Catawba (6-4, 5-3) prior to the 2-2 mark this weekend.
The Indians were 70-18 overall and 28-9 in league action since the start of 2019 winning four straight SAC series. In home affairs, the tribe were 32-5 at the friendly confines during that period.
Two Eagles stood out over the weekend to the tune of a .500 batting average. Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) went 8-for-16 with a long ball, five RBIs and six runs scored. Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) went 7-for-14 with the first two homers of his career knocking in seven.
In the four-game set, Carson-Newman outhit the Indians 36-34 in a series that featured 14 home runs. Eagle pitchers fanned 25 batters in 28 innings led by four nearly flawless frames from Tyler Shaver (Dandridge, Tenn.) who struck out five in four innings closing down both victories.
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 9, No. 7 Catawba 5
Catawba scored the first four runs of the game, all in the second stanza. Singles from Lee Poteat and Hunter Shepherd brought in three before Jeremy Simpson capped the inning with a double to left to put the Eagles in a 4-0 hole.
After a sacrifice fly from Brendan Krob (Justice, Ill.) put C-N on the board in the fourth, the Eagles burst the scoreboard with a seven-run fifth. Thompson brought in a pair with a double to left-center field. Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) tied the tally with a base hit to right field. After a Krob RBI single to left field, Travis hit his second roundtripper of the weekend cranking the ball over the fence in left field. The three-run dinger made it 8-4.
Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) added insurance for the club with a run-producing poke to right field to stretch the bulge to 9-4 in the sixth.
Shaver saw his 23 1/3 scoreless innings streak come to an end with one out in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Poteat. It was an unearned run after an error put a runner at third base.
The right-hander tossed a tidy seventh to seal the win finishing three innings with three punch outs. Corey Wilson (Germantown, Tenn.) earned his first-career victory tossing four innings giving up four earned runs.
Thompson was the only Eagle with a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Travis drove in three and Krob notched a pair of RBIs.
Simpson had a pair of hits and Poteat tallied three RBIs as the Indians were held to seven hits in the game. Four of the five pitchers used yielded at least one run.
Game Two: No. 7 Catawba 12, Carson-Newman 2 (7 Innings)
Shepherd homered with the bases empty and one out in the first inning. After a base hit, a dropped third strike put two men on with one out. Zack Miller doubled to left to make it a 2-0 contest. A walk and fly out loaded the bases with two outs when C-N should have been out of the inning. Trenton Walsh made C-N pay with a grand slam to right field to put the home group ahead 6-0 after one.
Shepherd wasted no time making it an eight-run margin with a two-run blast to straightaway center field in the second stanza.
Travis singled in Thompson in the third but the Indians scored twice in the third to make it a 10-1 affair.
Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) continued his hot hitting at the plate with a solo homer in the fourth but Catawba added a run in the fifth and sixth to put the Eagles behind 12-2.
Thompson, Travis and Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) each had a pair of knocks for the Eagles as the team piled up eight. Four of the six pitchers used by Griffin gave up at least two runs.
Maddux Holshouser earned his first win of the year fanning eight and scattering eight knocks and two walks over six innings of two-run baseball.
Shepherd went 3-for-3 with two homers, three RBIs, two walks and a pair of runs scored leading a lineup that notched 11 hits. Walsh had a pair of hits and five RBIs out of the eight slot in the order.
The Eagles are slated to return home for the first SAC series at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex starting on Saturday at noon with a twin-bill against UVA Wise in the first of a four-game series versus the Cavaliers. Broadcast coverage airs on cneagles.com/live for all four outings on the Eagle Sports Network in audio and video forms.
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