JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Playing two extra-inning affairs on a Saturday at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex, James Denten provided a walk-off winner in a 4-3 victory in the nightcap after Carson-Newman fell 7-5 in 15 innings of game one to South Atlantic Conference foe Mars Hill.
"It was a long day," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "I thought both teams were evenly matched. I thought the pitching was good all day. We certainly had our opportunities in game one but just couldn't get that hit. Part of it is hitting but the other part is good pitching. For us to lose like that and play 20 minutes later, Mason Mooney kept us in the game. Hunter Harritan had a couple tough outings and had some resiliency. It's a big lift for us to get that win."
Carson-Newman (6-11, 1-1) and Mars Hill (4-15, 2-3) had played five extra-inning games in the past 35 years before playing a pair on Saturday. The first contest was an inning short of the longest game in league history that saw the Eagles beat Milligan 5-4 in 16 frames on March 3, 2004.
Game One: MARS HILL 7, Carson-Newman 5 (15 Innings)
The Lions opened the scoring getting three runs in the third inning. With a runner aboard and one out, Zach Weaver turned on a 1-2 offering blasting a two-run dinger to right-center field. A fielding error with two outs allowed another run to score.
Carson-Newman quickly responded with three of its own in the bottom of the third to tie the tally at three. Back-to-back base hits from Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) and James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) pulled the club within one before Mitchell Balint (Avondale, Pa.) tied the score with a ground out to third.
Weaver put the Lions back in front in the top of the fifth launching the first pitch of the frame over the wall in left field but the Eagles had the answer once more on a ground out from Nelson Smith (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) in the bottom of the frame leveling the terms at four.
With two outs in the top of the 10th, an error allowed Mars Hill to take the lead at 5-4. The first two batters were retired in the home half of the stanza before Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) drew a walk. Smith rifled a shot into right field bringing home the tying run with a triple.
Two of the first three batters were retired in the top of the 15th but back-to-back walks loaded the bases. A passed ball and a base hit by Chapel Matson put the Lions on top for good winning 7-5.
The Orange and Blue saw 19 different players hit the diamond and five players tally two hits. Each of the top three in the lineup tallied two knocks with the club getting just three of 15 lead-off men on base.
Carson-Newman pitching struck out 24 batters, two shy of the Division record of 26 set by Stonehill against Southern New Hampshire on April 19, 2007 in an 18-inning game. Four hurlers were used an each fanned at least four. Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) led the way with eight punch outs in 3 2/3 innings as the bullpen surrendered one earned run in nine innings.
Jack Wagoner tossed seven stanzas of relief for the visitors with nine strikeouts allowing one run and two walks on 100 pitchers of relief. Four players notched two-hit games and Weaver went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 4, Mars Hill 3 (Eight Innings)
Carson-Newman immediately struck in the bottom of the first with Denten blasting a homer to right field with a man on base to put the home group on top 2-0.
Leading off the fifth inning, Matson worked an eight-pitch at-bat before turning a 3-2 pitch into a solo blast slicing the margin in half to 2-1.
Mars Hill loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the seventh. The Eagles turned a 6-2-3 double play but Bailey bounced a base hit through the right side of the infield to give Mars Hill its first lead of the game at 3-2.
Balint led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and came around to score the tying run on a base knock by Smith into the alley in left-center field to send the game to extras.
Will Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) drew a lead-off walk to start the bottom of the eighth. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, Denten flared a ball down the left-field line to bring in the winning run and begin the celebration.
Denten posted a 2-for-4 day with three RBIs and Balint notched a pair of knocks as well. Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) earned his first win of the year fanning three in two scoreless innings.
Dustin Revis struck out 10 batters over seven innings while the bullpen only recorded one out. Matson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
The teams wrap up the three-game series on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. from Mossy Creek with broadcast coverage available with a subscription on FloSports and an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live.
- CN -
