CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Carson-Newman's bullpen combined to throw five shutout stanzas but the lumber could not produce a clutch hit as the 22nd-ranked Eagles saw their eight-game winning streak end to sixth-ranked Lee 4-1 Tuesday at Olympic Field. It is the first loss for the Orange and Blue in 24 days.
Matt Coles (Winter Garden, Fla.) threw three shutout innings scattering three hits and a walk before Ryan Smithson (Monroe, Ga.) and Matt Bradley (Talbott, Tenn.) worked flawless eighth and ninth innings respectively. Carson-Newman (15-5) committed two errors leading to a pair of unearned runs.
The Eagles stranded 11 runners on base in the game leaving the bases juiced in the fifth and being unable to score a run after the first two reached in the seventh. It was an uncharacteristic day for the club going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position after entering the game hitting .340.
"We stranded some guys and you can't do that when you have runners in scoring position," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We didn't execute our bunts as far as the placement goes. That is a really good club. They pitch it well and do a lot of things that has made them successful. They don't make a ton of mistakes and when they do you have to take advantage."
Lee (18-2) has now won 22 of its last 24 regular-season games dating back to a year ago snapping a two-game skid to the Eagles. It was the first win for the Flames in the series since Feb. 18, 2019.
Landon Silver ambushed the first pitch of the bottom of the third driving it over the wall in left field to break the scoreless tie. Four pitches later, Riley Black slashed a double into the left-field corner. He moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a fly out to center to put the Flames ahead 2-0.
With two outs in the top of the fourth, Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) drew a five-pitch walk. Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) roped a double to the fence in right field to score Boze from first base to trim the margin in half at 2-1.
Lee put runners at the corners with no one out in the bottom of the fourth. After a strikeout, a grounder to short brought in a run to put a man on second with two outs. Silver pushed a single through the left side of the infield to get in the second run and stretch the margin to 4-1.
Carpenter, Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) each posted a pair of base hits for the Eagles, who outhit Lee 8-7 on the day.
Silver paced the Lee lumber going 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored with Ryan Beamish adding a pair of knocks. On the rubber, five of the six hurlers used by coach Mark Brew put up a zero in the run column. Andy Rivera earned the save working the ninth.
The Eagles return to the diamond for a four-game South Atlantic Conference series on the road travelling to Ron Christopher Stadium to face off against Wingate starting Saturday at 3 p.m.
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