GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum's Caleb Webster went 4-for-5 on the day as the Pioneers split a non-conference baseball doubleheader with Illinois Springfield on Saturday at Pioneer Park.
The Pioneers plated a dozen runs on 13 hits as Tusculum prevailed 12-8 in the opener. In the night-cap, the Prairie Stars muscled out 17 hits and seven walks as UIS prevailed 14-5. The two teams split the four-game weekend series.
Just one day after Ben Scartz tied the TU single-game record for being hit by a pitch, Webster equaled the feat when he was plunked three times in Saturday's first game.
Tusculum will host arch-rival Carson-Newman in a mid-week, non-conference game on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to close out a five-game home-stand.
Game 1: Tusculum 12, Illinois Springfield 8
Omar Carreras went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Avery Collins racked up four RBI on his two hits as Tusculum defeated Illinois Springfield, 12-8.
Brice Anders (1-1) pitched six innings where he recorded eight strikeouts in his 96-pitch performance. Freshman Cooper Emery pitched 2.2 shutout innings, scattered three hits and three walks to record his first collegiate save.
UIS opened the scoring in its half of the second inning when Mark Kattula led off with a single and moved to third on Mack Clark's double to left field. The ensuing relay throw got away from the Tusculum infielders to allow Kattula to scamper in from third. Ethan Bowers followed with a RBI single to bring in Clark for a 2-0 contest. The Stars would have the bases loaded with two outs, but Anders would pick off Bowers at third base for the final out of the inning.
Tusculum answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the second. Omar Carreras and Max Schmarder both got aboard and with two outs, scored on Avery Collins two-run single.
TU took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fifth as the Pioneers plated six runs, including a two-run hits by Carreras, Max Schmarder and Collins as Tusculum led 8-2.
Both teams plated a run each in the sixth inning as Tusculum held a 9-3 advantage. In the top of the seventh, five UIS players scored. The two big hits of that frame came Drew Ezard's two-run single, followed by Kattula's two-run double as the TU lead was trimmed to 9-8. Emery got a ground out and a strikeout to end the inning and strand the tying run at third base.
Tusculum responded with two runs in the bottom the frame as the Pioneers mustered five hits in the inning to score two runs to make it an 11-8 lead. The Prairie Stars mounted a two-out rally in the eighth as UIS had runners at second and third. But Emery would strikeout out Ivan Dahlberg to preserve the three-run lead.
TU added a run in the bottom of the eighth to extend its advantage to 12-8. Illinois Springfield brought the tying runs in the ninth when UIS loaded the bases. But Schmarder hauled in a foul ball in foul territory to seal the victory.
Webster went 2-for-2 with two runs scored for the Pioneers. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Ben Benoit suffered the loss.
Game 2: Illinois Springfield 14, Tusculum 5
Ty Hollandsworth went 4-for-5 while Jackson Blemler and Ethan Bowers had three hits apiece to pace UIS' 17-hit barrage in a 14-5 win over Tusculum in the series finale.
Both teams went through their pitching staffs in the three-hour, seven-inning marathon as 14 pitchers combined made their way to the mound (TU 8, UIS 6). Reliever Kannon Walker pitched 1.1 innings in relief to secure the victory.
UIS scored two runs in the top of the first inning on RBI singles from Clark and Hollandsworth. Tusculum tied the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Webster got aboard on his one-out double and later scored on Jake Absher's RBI hit.
The Stars scored three times in the second inning with Johnny Wendling providing the big hit of the frame with three-run double to left field as UIS would take a 6-2 lead. Tusculum scored twice in its half of the second thanks in part to back-to-back RBI doubles from Connor Jurek and Webster.
The teams scored one run each in the fourth inning, followed by a single-run from UIS in the fifth for an 8-5 lead. Tusculum had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Jake Uber had a bouncer come back to the mound, who initiated a home to first double-play. He capped the inning with a strikeout and preserve the 8-5 lead.
Eleven UIS batters went to the plate in the seventh, scoring six times on six hits including Clark's two-run single and a Chris Suchoski solo home run as the Stars led 14-5.
Webster and Luis Reyes each went 2-for-3 at the plate in the last game of the weekend series.
Carerras has reached base safely in all seven games this year and including last year's 10-game run, he has a 17-game streak on getting aboard for the Pioneers.
