Brevard, N.C. – Senior Jon Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.) homered for third time in two days and Carson-Newman took advantage of nine unearned runs as the Eagles swept a doubleheader at Brevard College on Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field. The Eagles took game one 10-4 and won game two, 8-3.
The Eagles improve to 10-16 (6-6 SAC), while Brevard falls to 9-13 (2-9 SAC) on the season.
Game One: Carson-Newman 10, Brevard 4
The Tornados staked BC starter Brennan Daniels (3-2) to a three run lead in the bottom of the first, but the Eagles battled back, scoring nine unanswered runs as they took the first game of the doubleheader, 10-4.
Ryan Fillers (1-3) pitched 6.1 innings of relief in winning his first game of the season for the Eagles.
Lance Rorex went 4-for-6 in the game and
Jonathan Dalton added three hits, while
Lucas Mohon had a game-tying three-run home run in the win. Randy O'Dell added three hits and three RBIs for the Tornados in the loss.
Brevard batted around in the bottom of the first as O'Dell drove a 1-1 pitch from Eagle starter
Alex Britt over the left centerfield fence, scoring Derek Ham from first as the Tornados jumped ahead early. Ethan Pressley came around to score later in the inning on an error by the third baseman as Brevard went up 3-0 after one.
Carson-Newman cut into the lead, plating a runner in the fourth as
Mason Guymon dropped down a bunt with the bases-loaded, scoring Mohon from third. However, Daniels escaped the inning only allowing the one run as he retired Lance Rorex on a groundout.
Brevard answered in the fourth as O'Dell brought home Ron Patterson on a fielder's choice to put the lead back to three, but the Eagles responded in the fifth as Mohon jumped on Daniels first pitch in his at-bat, driving the ball over the left centerfield fence, bringing home Wesley Dozier and Jonathan Dalton to tie the game up.
The Eagles added runs in the sixth and the seventh as Troy Zawadzki brought home Rorex with a base hit and Mason Gregory drove Dalton in with a double to expand the lead, but Carson-Newman put the game out of reach with four runs in the ninth.
Daniels suffers only his second loss of the season, throwing 6.2 innings, striking out four, while allowing five earned runs in the contest.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 8, Brevard 3
Six unearned runs off of five Brevard College errors proved to be the difference in game two as the Tornados were unable to overcome the Eagles in the series sweep, 8-3.
Joseph Lepore (1-1) took the loss for the Tornados in the game, scattering six hits in five innings and striking out five.
Robby Thigpen (3-2) went six innings for the Eagles, striking out five while allowing three runs.
The Eagles scored two in the top of the first as Dalton drove the ball down the left field line and over the BC bullpen behind the fence, scoring Dozier as Carson-Newman took the early 2-0 lead.
Carson-Newman added another in the third as Dalton brought home Vargas on a sacrifice fly, but the Tornados nearly tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning as Patterson drove a double down the left field line, scoring Ham from first base and O'Dell followed with a single, scoring Patterson as Brevard put the game at 3-2 after three.
The Eagles extended their lead in the fourth, taking advantage of two BC errors to plate four unearned runs in the inning with Dozier having the big hit in the inning with a bases-clearing double down the left field line.
Brevard added another run in the fifth as Pressley brought Myers home with a two-out single up the middle.
Carson-Newman added an insurance run in the sixth and
Mike Mullen came in relief and retired the Tornados in order in the seventh to end the game.
The Eagles return to action with five home games this week. C-N will host North Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. in non-conference action. Lenoir-Rhyne University visits Mossy Creek for a three-game South Atlantic Conference series beginning Friday at 2 p.m.
