GAFFNEY, S.C. – Despite early and late surges from Limestone, Carson-Newman produced at the plate and on the mound when the moments mattered the most to secure a doubleheader sweep and a series victory to open the 2021 season at Founders FCU Stadium on Friday winning 12-7 and 8-7.
"After losing yesterday and seeing them put a five spot on us in the first of game one, we handled it exceptionally well," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We had great energy all weekend long. We were even keel and even when they punched us in the mouth, we kept plugging along. It was fun to see that from our guys.
"I thought Thompson had a great day offensively all day. Matt Parkinson did a great job at the plate and handling our staff in game one. Jake Wright was fantastic at the end of game one. Brendan Krob was great with our pitchers in the nightcap. Jackson Harbin was big time. You're talking about entering with the bases loaded and no one out. He got out of it and faced one of their veteran hitters to end the game. Hunter Long did a great job coming back in game two and Brayden Coe looked on point."
Carson-Newman (2-1) has won three consecutive series to open the year, all against Limestone (1-2), earning victories in eight of the last nine meetings with the Saints.
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 12, Limestone 7 (Seven Innings)
The Saints wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as five of the first six batters reached safely. Alex Cornell dribbled a two-run single past the infield into left field to put two men on for Ryan Farkas. The right-handed hitter launched a homer over the fence in left center to make it a 5-0 game after an inning.
Griffin's group bounced back with a pair in the second stanza thanks to a line drive single to left field by Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) and a ground out by Charlie Brown (Sevierville, Tenn.). C-N loaded the bases with two outs but a fly out to center ended the rally settling the differential at 5-2.
In his second at-bat in an Orange and Blue uniform, Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) crushed a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left center field to inch the Eagles within two, 5-3, in the third.
With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) barreled a 3-1 offering and demolished it over the fence down the left-field line to put the Eagles ahead. A double from Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) with two outs scored Matt Parkinson and gave Carson-Newman an 8-5 lead.
Limestone tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth but stranded the bases loaded when Tyler O'Dell struck out swinging on three pitches to preserve an 8-7 edge for the Eagles.
After adding a run in the sixth, the Eagles tacked on three more in the top of the seventh. A sacrifice fly from Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) brought in a run and an errant throw to the plate allowed a second run to come home. Boze finished the scoring with a two-out single to right center to put the visitors on top 12-7.
Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) made his C-N debut and earned the win behind 3 1/3 scoreless innings striking out seven walking a pair and giving up a run. The righty combined with Matt Coles (Winter Garden, Fla.) to throw four shutdown frames from the bullpen.
Five Eagles tallied multi-hit efforts on the day and five different players drove in at least one run. Parkinson made the most of his first-career start by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Boze drove in five with two hits and a run scored.
Overall, Carson-Newman more than doubled Limestone's hit tally 13-6 outscoring the Saints 12-2 over the final six innings of the game.
Trace Whetsell went 2-for-4 with two runs scored from the top of the lineup while Farkas drove in four. The bottom third of the lineup combined to go 0-for-10 on the day. Five of the six pitchers allowed at least one run with Alex Canino facing three batters to end the day on the rubber.
�� Grand Slam
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 5, 2021
5⃣ RBIs@zboze32 powers @CNBaseball to a game one win. pic.twitter.com/nY5F4ok8mJ
Great start to the season for @BrayCoe
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 6, 2021
�� Career-high 9⃣ strikeouts
5⃣ shutdown stanzas pic.twitter.com/KdzjRVzrMv
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 8, Limestone 7
Wild pitches helped Carson-Newman carve out an early 4-0 lead in the second inning. Cory Busse threw three of them in the stanza allowing the first two runs to score prior to Thompson knocking in a pair with a base hit to left field.
Brayden Coe (Bridgeville, Pa.) did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the bottom of the fourth when Alex Cornell singled to right. Farkas followed with a base knock to the gap in right center. Cornell tried to score but the Eagles fired a perfect relay to the plate nabbing Cornell at the dish to keep the margin at 4-0.
Brandon Banks was plunked by a pitch to open the bottom of the fifth but was at second base with two outs. Whetsell hit a dribbler in the hole at first beating the throw to the bag and allowing Banks to come into score to trim the tally to 4-1.
The teams traded runs in the sixth with Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) grounding out and a wild pitch bringing in a run for the home club. Hunter Long (Powell, Tenn.) struck out Kyle Raynor to leave men at second and third and get the differential at three, 5-2.
Once again Limestone threatened in the seventh getting a run with two outs on a base hit from Brian Forbes. Kyle Cagle (Fairview, N.C.) entered from the bullpen with runners at second and third and fanned Cornell swinging to stymie the charge.
The Saints continued their comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Michael Roberts pinch hit with one out and blasted a solo homer to left field to close the gap to 5-4.
C-N secured some much needed insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) drove in a pair with a two-out single and later scored on a throwing error at third to get the lead to 8-4 going to the bottom of the ninth.
After a lead-off single, Ben Huber clobbered a two-run homer to left-center field to put a dent into the deficit. Two walks and a single later, the Saints had the bases loaded with no one out. Jackson Harbin (Gastnia, N.C.) made his Eagle debut getting a struck out and a shallow pop out to left field. The righty hit the next batter to make it a one-run game before fanning Whetsell to seal the win.
Coe worked five innings matching a career high with nine strikeouts scattering three hits and one walk allowing just one earned run in his 2021 season debut.
Thompson led the offense from the top of the order going 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored. Daughtry added support from the middle of the lineup going 2-for-4 with two RBIs crossing the plate twice.
Cornell and Huber were the only Saints with multi-hit efforts as Huber scored twice to go along with his two-run home run.
The Eagles will get nearly a full week off prior to opening the doors to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex on Saturday, Feb. 13, welcoming Mars Hill for a doubleheader starting at noon. Every home game is available on cneagles.com/live with video and audio streams available from the Eagle Sports Network.
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