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Baseball Day Three: Tusculum Eliminates
Wingate; Presbyterian Upends Carson-Newman; Tusculum Eliminates
Catawba; Tusculum Eliminates Carson-Newman |
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Courtesy Newberry College Sports Information Office Tusculum Bats Eliminate Wingate in 16-7 Win Presbyterian Upends Regular Season Champ Carson-Newman, 9-4 Tusculum Wins Classic Game, Stays Alive with 7-5 Win over Catawba Tusculum Wins on Sheer Guts over Carson-Newman, 8-2 Tusculum Bats Eliminate
Wingate in 16-7 Win NEWBERRY, S.C. – Tusculum College third baseman Guy O’Connell (Perth, AUSTRALIA) blasted two more homers this season to help the Pioneers eliminate Wingate University 16-7 Saturday morning at the Food Lion / South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament at Kirkland Field, hosted by Newberry College. Tusculum set the tournament high with 19 hits, and the 23 combined runs scored is the most so far at the festival. Wingate finishes its season at 29-23, while Tusculum stays alive to play Catawba College at 4:30 this afternoon. O’Connell’s two blasts give him 20 on the season. Both homers came with a man aboard, giving him four RBI for the day and 62 for the season. The Pioneers (31-17), the top hitting team in the conference this season, scored in every inning but the second. Seven Tusculum players has multi-hit days, led by second baseman Mike Calano (Suwanee, Ga.), who went 4-for-6. He also had four RBI for the Pioneers. Left fielder Josh Wolff (Louisville, Ky.) also hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the sixth inning to keep the runs coming. Wingate scored a pair of runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings, and added a ruin in the ninth to get to seven runs. The Bulldogs were led offensively by second baseman Justin Hash (Indian Trail, N.C.) and catcher John Spencer (Charlotte, N.C.) who each were 2-for-5. Six other Bulldogs had one hit each. Tusculum’s Jeff Bryant (Knoxville, Tenn.) started and got the win on the mound (2-1). The junior allowed seven hits and two walks in five innings of work, striking out three. He allowed six of the seven Wingate runs, though five were earned. Wingate starter Marc Church (Granite Falls, N.C.) took the loss (5-4). In three innings of work, he allowed eight runs on six hits and six walks, with one strikeout. Four other Wingate Pitchers allowed the remaining eight runs. Presbyterian Upends
Regular Season Champ Carson-Newman, 9-4 NEWBERRY, S.C. – Presbyterian College advanced to Sunday’s championship series by staying undefeated in tournament play with a 9-4 win over the regular season champion Carson-Newman Eagles Saturday afternoon at the Food Lion / South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament at Kirkland Field, hosted by Newberry College. The Blue Hose (26-24), who came into the tournament with a losing record and the number-three seed, survived a six-error day (10 combined errors) by scoring runs in bunches against an Eagles (31-20) team that was baffled down the stretch. PC has won all three tournament games against the six, two and number one seeds to get to Sunday’s final series. That series starts Sunday at 1 p.m. Carson-Newman returns to Kirkland field tonight at 8:15 to play the winner of the 4:30 p.m. game between Catawba and Tusculum. The winner of tonight’s final game must defeat PC twice to claim the tournament title on Sunday. Presbyterian got on the scoreboard first in the second inning, thanks to three errors on the Eagles in that inning. PC saw an RBI double by designated hitter Matt Bodie (Aiken, S.C.) and an RBI single by catcher Dusty New (Abbeville, S.C.) to help the cause. The Eagles answered with three earned runs in the bottom half of that third inning with four hits. Chris Martin (Knoxville, Tenn.) had an RBI single in that inning. PC put up two more runs in the third on three hits, including an RBI double by first baseman Matt Warren (Lexington, S.C.). Carson-Newman again answered with an unearned run when Martin scored catcher Chris Borntraeger (Lexington, Ky.) on an RBI groundout. That made the score 5-4 Blue Hose. PC put together a pair of runs in the fifth to break open the game. Shortstop Davis Rice (Clinton, S.C.) reached on the fourth and final Eagles error of the day. He scored on another double, this one by PC center fielder Kevin White (Spartanburg, S.C.). White, just one of three .400 hitters in the regular season in the league, leads the tournament with seven hits, three doubles and 13 total bases. He is batting .500 in the tournament. White added a two-run homer in the ninth to finish it for the Blue Hose and put them on the red carpet to Sunday. He was 3-for-5 on the day. PC leads the tournament field in batting average (.343), runs scored (26), RBI (24) doubles (9) stolen bases (9) and ERA (2.67). Blue Hose pitching shut down the Eagles after the third inning, stranding nine runners on base in the last six innings. The defense pitched in to turn two crucial double plays in that time. PC starter Matt Boone (Kernersville, N.C.) got his first win of the season (1-3). He lasted five innings, allowing eight hits, two walks and he hit two batters while striking out three. Reliever Robert Cole (Savannah, Ga.) allowed only five runners to reach base safely in the final four innings to get his second save of the season. He gave up four hits and a walk with two punchouts. Carson-Newman’s Derrick Calkin (Maryville, Tenn.) took the loss (4-5). He threw the first four innings and gave up six hits and hit a batter, with three strikeouts. Five of the seven runs scored against him were earned. Tusculum Wins Classic
Game, Stays Alive with 7-5 Win over Catawba NEWBERRY, S.C. – Tusculum College won its second game of the day only to live to play a third contest with a 7-5 win over Catawba College in the fifth elimination game of the 2003 Food / Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament. Tusculum plays regular season champion Carson-Newman in the final elimination game of the tournament tonight at 8:30 p.m. The winner of that contest advances to the championships to take on Presbyterian tomorrow, beginning at 1 p.m. Presbyterian, which has won all three of its tournament games to this point, must lose twice for tonight’s winner to be declared champion in the double-elimination tournament format. The Pioneers (32-17) did not have a home run, the first game of the tournament that they have not had a four-base hit. The Pioneers have hit a tournament-high seven round trippers so far in the tournament. Tusculum has racked up a tournament-high 50 hits in four games. Catawba (30-25) scored first in the first inning on three hits, a walk and a hit batter. The Indians plated two runs in that frame, the first coming on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Blair Reynolds (King, N.C.). The second runs pushed across on an RBI single by designated hitter Chris Foy (South Mills, N.C.). Tusculum put up three runs to take the lead in the third. The first four batters of that inning had hits, three of which were doubles. Shortstop Robbie Bouman (Sterling, Va.) hit a two-run two-bagger before he was gunned down at third base by the Catawba defense. The Indians re-took the lead in the fifth on the only hit of the day for center fielder Spence Southard (Greensboro, N.C.), a two-run homer to left scoring himself and right fielder Nick Lefko (Faith, N.C.). Lefko had a team-best three hits in the contest and scored three runs for the Tribe. The Pioneers took the lead back from Catawba in the top of the seventh on a pair of unearned runs thanks to both Indians errors in that inning. Designated hitter George Hanger (Stauton, Va.), hit an RBI single to left to push across the go-ahead run to make it 5-4 Tusculum. Catawba tied the game in the bottom half of that seventh on an unearned run of its own. Lefko reached via a fielding error and scored on the second Reynolds sacrifice of the day. In the ninth, the Pioneers hit leadoff doubles by center fielder Dave McMahon (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Bouman, the latter of which was go-ahead RBI. Third baseman Guy O’Connell (Perth, AUSTRALIA) knocked in Bouman with an RBI-single creating the game’s final margin. O’Connell has five RBI in his two games today, including a pair of two-run homers this morning. Lefko singled to leadoff the ninth for Catawba, but he was erased on a ground ball double play to end the game. Catawba starter Chris Abernathy (Claremont, N.C.) took the loss for the Indians (5-6). He pitched eight innings, but could not retire any of the three batters he faced in the ninth. He allowed 14 hits but no walks, with a pair of strikeouts. Only five of his seven runs were earned. Tusculum reliever Jason Davis (Ashland, Ky.) threw three shutout innings to finish the game for the Pioneers and get the win (1-2). He allowed just two hits and a walk, with one punchout in the game. Tusculum Wins on Sheer
Guts over Carson-Newman, 8-2 NEWBERRY, S.C. – Tusculum College pulled the improbable feat of winning three nine-inning games in one day with timely hitting to advance to Championship Sunday in the 8-2 win over top-seeded Carson-Newman at the Food Lion / South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament hosted by Newberry College at Kirkland Field Saturday night. Tusculum advances to face Presbyterian College Sunday afternoon and must beat the Blue Hose twice, thus playing seven nine-inning games in four days to claim the tournament title. Carson-Newman had lost to PC earlier in the day as both teams faced worn down players. Only one man reached second in the first five innings as the pitchers kept the tired hitters at bay. Carson-Newman finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning. Right fielder Nathan Gravley (Cartersville, Ga.) reached safely with a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He scored the first run of the game on a double down the right field line by first baseman Ricky Luttrell (Knoxville, Tenn.), who leads the tournament with nine RBI. Luttrell stole third and came home on an RBI groundout by pinch hitter Bryce Thomas (Chattanooga, Tenn.). This made the game 2-0 Eagles. The Pioneers finally broke through in the bottom half with three runs to take the lead. With one out, shortstop Robbie Bouman (Sterling, Va.) reached on an infield hit. Third baseman Guy O’Connell (Perth, AUSTRALIA) then drew a walk before George Hanger (Staunton, Va.) hit a ground ball that was thrown away to score Bouman and move O’Connell to third. Tusculum right fielder Aaron Frye (Lebanon, Tenn.) singled to left with an RBI to score O’Connell and push Hanger to second. Left fielder Josh Wolff (Louisville, Ky.) plated Hanger with a single to left center. One strikeout later, catcher Doug Hering (Okeana, Ohio) hit a two-out, two-run double to score Frye and Wolff and give the Pioneers a 5-2 lead. Tusculum put up three more runs in the seventh, one coming across on a Frye triple to center. Frye scored the final run of the game on a Wolff infield single. Pioneers starter Kenny Lewis (Scottsville, Va.) lasted six and one-third innings, allowing seven hits and one walk. He struck out six Eagles on the day to get the win (5-3). Reliever Brian Lovett (Knoxville, Tenn.) tossed a perfect two and two-thirds innings to get his first save of the season. Eagles starter Brandon Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.) threw five and one-third innings, allowing six hits and one walk, with five punchouts. He allowed five runs, but only one was earned to take the hard luck loss (4-4). Shortstop Chris Martin (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 2-for-3 for the Eagles, finishing his tournament 7-for-13 (.538) to lead the Eagles, who finish their season 31-21. The Eagles have finished with 30-plus wins in four of their last five seasons, including the last two straight. Hering went 2-for-4 to continue his .500 tournament. He has seven hits in 14 tries with two RBI in the tournament. |
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