Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship: Third Day Action
April 23, 2005

SAC Sports Information Directors contributed to these releases

Presbyterian 4, Newberry 3

Carson- Newman College 7, Catawba 0

Tusculum 8, Presbyterian 4

Tusculum 13, Catawba 5

Presbyterian 4, Newberry 3 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- A run-scoring double by Presbyterian College's Andrew Cockerham (Millers Creek, N.C.) in the eighth inning lifted the eighth-seeded Blue Hose to a 4-3 victory over arch-rival and No. 7 seed Newberry College to stay alive in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference baseball tournament Saturday morning at Pioneer Park.

The contest spanned two days beginning Friday night and was delayed because of thunderstorms in the northeast Tennessee area.

PC did all of its scoring in its first and last at-bat, plating three runs in the bottom of the first and one in the eighth.

Matt Bodie (Aiken, S.C.) put the first two runs on the board with a two-run single to score Russell Robinson (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and Nick Hoffner (Ellicot, Md.). Jake Lunnen gave Presbyterian a 3-0 lead on a RBI groundout.

Once play resumed in the third on Saturday, Newberry starter Will Folk (Charleston, S.C.) settled down and did not allow another run to score until the eighth. He was tagged with the loss (3-6), but aside from the first inning, he gave up just five hits and one earned run.

The Indians crept back into the contest with two runs in the fourth thanks to a single by Ryan Easterby (Charleston, S.C.) and a groundout from Nick Martin (Morehead City, N.C.). The Tribe tied the score at 3-3 in the sixth on another RBI groundout, this time from Curt Marshall (Rock Hill, S.C.).

PC broke the tie on Cockerham's double and Dan Stankus (Alexandria, Va.) survived a warning-track fly ball from Anthony Dillenger (Gaffney, S.C.) for the final out. Stankus improves to 5-1 on the year.

Presbyterian (16-35) turns right around to face No. 2 seed and host Tusculum College Saturday afternoon. Newberry ends the season at 19-35.

Carson- Newman College 7, Catawba 0 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After scoring just one run in the first seven innings, Carson- Newman College exploded for six in the final two frames as the third-seeded Eagles advanced to the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference championship game with a 7-0 victory over top seed Catawba College Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park.

John Wallace (Marietta, Ga.) threw a tremendous game as he went nine innings, giving up seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Wallace's performance was part of an outstanding effort by the entire Eagles pitching staff. C-N pitchers have not allowed a run in the last 23 innings of the tournament.

The Eagles' first run came in the sixth when Bryce Thomas (Ringgold, Ga.) was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and would later score from third base on a wild pitch.

The Eagles would add to their lead in the eighth inning by scoring three runs. Derrick Calkin (Maryville, Tenn.) smacked a two-run double to left field that brought T.J. Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Brian Chapman (Tazewell, Tenn.) home. The final run came when Jonathan Mary (Maryville, Tenn.) singled to center field to plate Calkin.

Carson-Newman added three insurance runs in the ninth when Calkin belted another two-run double to left field to score Graves and Chapman. Adam Kefauver (Madisonville, Tenn.) plated Calkin with a towering triple to right field to produce the final run.

The Eagles will take on the winner of the Tusculum-Catawba game in the finals of the conference tournament Sunday at 1 p.m.

Tusculum 8, Presbyterian 4 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Matt Riggs went 2-for-4, including a two-run triple as second- seeded Tusculum College rallied to defeat No. 8 seed Presbyterian College 8-4 Saturday afternoon in an elimination game of the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament, played at TC's Pioneer Park.

The Pioneers (37-13) advance to Saturday night's elimination final to face either Catawba or Carson-Newman. Presbyterian is eliminated from the SAC Tournament and ends its season at 17-35.

The Blue Hose jumped out to a 3-1 lead, including two runs in their first at-bat. PC's Nick Hoffner led off the game with a single and moved to second on Riggs' fielding error. Russell Robinson followed with a run-scoring single and later scored himself on Lance Howard's sacrifice fly.

The Pioneers plated three runs in the fourth inning, including two on Riggs' two-run triple. On the play, Riggs scored as the relay throw was bobbled as TC went up 4-3. PC answered with a run in the fifth inning as Andrew Cockerham led off with a double, moved to third on Evan Sowell's infield single and later scored on Hoffner's fly ball to knot the score at 4-4.

Tusculum regained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning as George Hanger drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Kenny Reed's hit and run to put runners on the corners. Greg Stotser singled to drive in Hanger and Reed came in on Adam Hicks' RBI hit.

The Pioneers added some insurance in the seventh on Adam Beacham's two-run inside the park home run for the final score.

Tusculum starter Mat Galens (3-1) tossed eight innings as he allowed seven hits, four runs, walked two and struck out four. PC's Ryan Ariail suffered the loss to fall to 1-7.

The Pioneers posted 10 hits in the game, including multi-hit contests by Riggs, Tim Brown and Stotser. Presbyterian was led by Robinson's 3-for-4 effort, while Hoffner went 2-for-3.

Tusculum 13, Catawba 5 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Adam Beacham went 3-for-4, including a three-run homer as second-seeded Tusculum College defeated top-seeded Catawba College 13-5, Saturday night in the elimination bracket final of the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament held at TC's Pioneer Park.

The Pioneers (38-13), ranked No. 24 in NCAA Division II, advance to Sunday's championship game against No. 3 seed Carson-Newman College, slated to begin at 1 p.m. Catawba (35-19), ranked No. 15 in the nation, is eliminated from the tournament and awaits word of its postseason fate.

Tusculum jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Catawba cut into the deficit to trail only 6-4. With two outs and two runners on Beacham stepped up and blasted a home run over the left centerfield wall. For Beacham, it was his third home run of the tournament and second on the day. Beacham hit an inside the park homer earlier in the day in TC's 8-4 victory over Presbyterian College. Beacham finished with four RBI on the evening.

TC freshman Michael Handley came through with a clutch pitching performance as he tossed a complete game effort as he allowed nine hits and five runs to improve this record to 4-1 on the year.

The Pioneers belted 13 hits, including three hits by Beacham and two-hit outings by Riggs, Kenny Reed and Matt Webb. Catawba's David Thomas and Matt Baker each recorded two hits in the loss.

Tusculum jumped out to a six-run advantage after three innings utilizing four hit batsmen in the first two frames. Matt Riggs was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and moved to second on Tim Brown's walk. The TC duo moved up on a wild pitch with Riggs scoring on Skip Talarek's sacrifice fly and Brown crossing the plate on George Hanger's RBI groundout.

TC loaded the bases to lead off the third as Adam Hicks and Webb were hit by a pitch and Beacham reached on a bunt single. Riggs drove in a run on his ground out and Brown loaded the bases with a walk. Talarek drove in his second RBI of the game when he was hit by a pitch. TC scored its third run of the frame on Hanger's sacrifice fly. The Pioneers made it 6-0 when Greg Stotser led off the third inning with a single and later scored on Webb's one-out double.

Tusculum added four runs on four hits in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.