HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Matt Coles spun a gem and the Carson-Newman bats provided an outburst in a 10-0 series finale win to punctuate the season against Coker after dropping a 5-4 walk-off affair Sunday at Dan Schmotzer Stadium to tie a bow on the 2021 South Atlantic Conference regular season.
Coles hurled a complete game shutout tallying the fifth by the program on the year, the second-most in the country. It breaks six-way for the third-most ever by the program in its Division II era, since 1994, being one shy of the 1996 and 2006 teams that posted six.
"That first game we stranded some guys early and that was the big reason why we didn't come away with a win," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We had guys in scoring position and couldn't get that hit. The way we came back in the seventh to tie it says a lot. It's unfortunate our bullpen walked some guys and Micah Genter did a good job coming in 3-0 and we thought he had strike three.
"The way we answered in game two was big. To come out the way we did and pile on numbers was good for our guys. Our energy level showed. We didn't take a step backwards after the loss. We lose out on the four spot but you keep playing the game no matter what part of the season you are in and stick to the training to produce because you are playing the game."
Carson-Newman (24-14, 19-11) secured a .633 winning percentage in SAC play, its best league winning percentage since going 14-6 during the 2008 season when the club last participated in the NCAA Tournament field. With more regular season games on the docket, the program posted a single-season record 19 wins.
With the triumph, the Eagles locked in the No. 5 seed in the 2021 Pilot Flying J SAC Baseball Championships. C-N will play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday looking to book a ticket to the double elimination of the tournament. Its opponent will either be Limestone or Mars Hill depending on results yet to conclude at the time of publication.
On the day, four different Eagles posted at least two hits with Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) leading the charge with a 3-for-6 line with two RBIs and three runs scored. Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) each drove in a team-high three runs.
Game One: Coker 5, Carson-Newman 4 (7 Innings)
Carson-Newman took advantage of a slipshod start by Coker starting pitcher Garrett Dunn. An error and two walks loaded the bases with one out. Boze lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Ricketts and open the scoring.
The Cobras took advantage of a C-N miscue in the fourth. Drew Klaserner advanced to second base on a throwing error and came in to score when Jackson Williams drooped a single to left field to level the tally at one.
Bryan Castillo singled inside of the bag at first base and moved to second base on a balk to open the inning. After two fly outs, Phil Griffor split the gap in the left-center field to bring in Castillo and put the snakes ahead 2-1.
Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) fanned the first two batters of the sixth but the second batter reached on a passed ball opening the door for Kody Hanna to blast a two-run homer to right-center field to swell the Coker lead to 4-1.
Hitless through the first six innings, Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) broke up the no-hit bid to open the seventh. Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) followed a fly out with a base hit. After a pop out, Ricketts yanked a triple inside of the first-base bag to plate a pair. A fielding error at shortstop tied the game up at four before a shallow fly out to center field ended the threat.
Lake Lybrand drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the seventh. After a sacrifice bunt, Griffor drew a walk and a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position. C-N elected to intentionally walk Reilly Hall to load the bases. Klaserner saw three straight pitches out of the strike zone before Genter was summoned from shortstop for his first pitching appearance of the year. He fired two strikes before missing slightly inside to walk in the game-winning run. It was the first time since March 24, 2018, a span of 1,124 days that the program suffered a walk-off loss.
Coker doubled up C-N in the hit column 6-3 with Ricketts leading the offense going 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Mason Mooney (San Jose, Calif.) was solid of four innings in the starting role giving up one unearned run on three hits with two strikeouts.
Hanna led the Cobras lineup with a 2-for-3 day tacking on two RBIs and a run scored. Garrett Dunn walked four but did not allow a hit striking out three.
Coker snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Eagles picking up their first win in the series since March 26, 2016 and its first win on their home field over the Orange and Blue since March 15, 2014.
Let's get this party started with a two-run single by @mparkinson_2.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 18, 2021
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How about a little tater action? @zboze32 launches a homer for the second time in the series.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 18, 2021
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Game Two: Carson-Newman 10, Coker 0 (7 Innings)
Griffin's group made the lost a distant memory in no time driving in four runs in the opening inning. Parkinson got the ball rolling with a two-run single through the right side of the infield. After a line out, Boze cranked his second long ball of the series over the wall down the left-field line.
C-N struck for five more in the second to open up a 9-0 advantage. A fielder's choice and a wild pitch brought in the first two runs. Parkinson smacked a ball down the right-field line to bring in Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.). Brendan Krob (Justice, Ill.) followed with a run-producing knock to left before scoring on a double from Charlie Brown (Sevierville, Tenn.).
The Eagles added another run in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-out error at third base to get the unit to run-rule range. Sunday's finale is the fourth win by a run rule margin on the year and first on the road.
Four Eagles tallied a multi-hit affair led by a 2-for-4 day with three RBIs and two runs scored from Parkinson. Boze chipped in a 2-for-4 line with two RBIs and two runs scored. Ricketts and Brown likewise added two pokes.
Coles scattered seven hits and three walks adding six strikeouts in the game on 100 pitches. He is the third individual to hurl a complete-game shutout for C-N in 2021. The Winter Garden, Fla. native had never finished six stanzas in a C-N uniform finishing with the second-most strikeouts of his career.
Reilly Hall produced two of the seven knocks for the home club. Zachary Hinson steered the ship out of the bullpen with 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Brendan Mullins took the loss giving up nine runs, six earned, recording five outs on eight hits and one walk.
The Eagles open the Pilot Flying J SAC Baseball Championships on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. from Smokies Stadium. All games in the tournament will be broadcast by the Eagle Sports Network with video and audio streams available by going to cneagles.com/live.
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