JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Catawba scored just one run on two hits in the first five innings, but scored 13 times in the final four innings to win the series opener against Carson-Newman Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"Coach Gantt and his staff are phenomenal," Carson-Newman baseball coach Tom Griffin said. "They are a very mature team, not just in age but in baseball aptitude and ability. They don't beat themselves very often. When you play against anyone, it's about what freebies you are giving them, like walks, misplaying balls. The more you give of those, the harder it is to overcome. I thought we had some good approaches at the plate. The baserunning to create opportunities was good as well."
Spencer Williams (Seymour, Tenn.) went yard for the second time this season on a ball that carried over the right center field wall to get Carson-Newman a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
The Indians answered that run and tied the game in the second inning.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Noah Pridmore (Ooltewah, Tenn.) in the top of the third inning, C-N's offense went back to work. Dalton McLain (Greeneville, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved all the way to third with two outs. That's when Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) delivered a two-out single to left field to put the Eagles back up a run in the third inning.
After two more zeros from Pridmore, C-N scored twice more in the fifth. Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) doubled to left field to get two runners in scoring position and then Floyd stepped up against for Carson-Newman. The freshman doubled to right field to plate two runs and make it 4-1 after five innings.
Catawba erupted for a six-run sixth inning. The Indians started the inning with three straight singles to make it a 4-2 game. The Eagles went to the pen and Cole Hales crushed a ball to right field for a go-ahead grand slam to give Catawba its first lead of the day at 6-4. The scoring was capped off by an error and the Indians led by three.
Carson-Newman responded back with three runs of its own. Spencer Bright doubled to left field and C-N put two runners in scoring position with just one out. McLain singled up the middle to plate a run. Williams followed with a bunt single to score Bright to make it a one-run game. Travis capped the scoring with an RBI groundout to shortstop to tie the game at seven after six innings.
The Indians scored for a second straight inning after getting the first four batters to reach to score the first two runs of the inning. The third run came across on a Robertson sacrifice fly.
After a scoreless eighth inning both ways, Catawba scored four more in the ninth inning to extend the lead. Two RBI singles a two-run double
Williams recorded his first career three-hit day and Floyd finished with his first multiple RBI game of his career.
Grif Hughes (Knoxville, Tenn.) suffered his third loss of the season, going 2 2/3 innings allowing five hits and four runs.
Hayden Simmerson recorded the final nine outs of the game to record his third save of the season, allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out three.
Eight of the nine Catawba hitters recorded a base knock while five had at least two hits. Cole Hales led the way with 5 RBI.
The series continues and wraps up tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 pm. The doubleheader will air on the Eagle Sports Network with video available on FloSports with a paid subscription and an audio-only stream on cneagles.com/live.
