Britt, Thigpen lift Eagles to sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne, 6-3 and 4-0
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman baseball team received a pair of stellar outings on the mound on its way to sweeping a doubleheader from Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. Junior right-hander Alex Britt (Salisbury, N.C.) struck out a career-high nine batters to help lead the Eagles to a 6-3 win in game one, while junior right-hander Robby Thigpen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tossed a complete-game shutout to lift C-N to a 4-0 victory in game two.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman baseball team received a pair of stellar outings on the mound on its way to sweeping a doubleheader from Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
Junior right-hander Alex Britt (Salisbury, N.C.) struck out a career-high nine batters to help lead the Eagles to a 6-3 win in game one, while junior right-hander Robby Thigpen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tossed a complete-game shutout to lift C-N to a 4-0 victory in game two.
With the sweep, the Eagles claim the series and improve to 12-18 on the season and 8-7 in the conference. Lenor-Rhyne falls to 6-24 overall and 3-12 in SAC play.
In the first game, Britt (2-1) scattered seven hits and gave up three runs in 7 1/3 innings of work to earn the win, while the Eagles used a four-run third inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by senior Jonathan Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.), to pull away from the Bears for a 6-3 victory.
C-N tallied nine hits for the game. Senior designated hitter Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) went 3-for-4 with two doubles to lead the way, while Dalton collected a pair of hits. Lance Rorex (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Lucas Mohan (Glasgow, Ky.) each had a double, and junior Troy Zawadzki (Shrewsbury, Mass.) contributed a triple.
The Bears managed seven hits, as Chris LaVenia (Clearwater, Fla.) produced two hits, including a solo home run. Stephan Arcieri (Roswell, Ga.) added two hits in the loss.
Lenoir-Rhyne starting pitcher Ryan Wiese (Charlotte, N.C.) was tagged with the loss. Wiese (0-3) surrendered three runs and two hits in two innings on the mound.
C-N struck first in the opening frame, as Zawadzki tripled down the right-field line and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Mohan to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles took control of the game in the third with a four-run outburst. Rorex drew a walk to lead off the inning and later scored on an error. Dalton then added his three-run blast to give C-N a 5-0 cushion.
The Bears pulled to within 5-2 in the fourth. Brian Dice (Hickory, N.C.) singled to lead off the inning and later scored when Walton Shephard (Lake Junaluska, N.C.) grounded into a double play. Stephen Andrews (Winston-Salem, N.C.) then delivered a run-scoring single to trim C-N's lead to three runs.
C-N added an insurance run in the seventh. Rorex doubled to lead things off, and Mohan doubled to right field to drive in Rorex and give the Eagles a 6-2 lead.
LaVenia's solo home run in the eighth was all the offense the Bears would generate the rest of the way.
In the second contest, Thigpen (4-2) allowed just four hits and fanned six batters in seven innings of work to lead C-N to a 4-0 win.
The Eagles tallied nine hits for the game, including a 2-for-3 effort from Rorex. Mohan, Dozier and Dalton each added a double in the win.
The Bears finished with four hits, including a double by Arcieri and a double by Nick Verhein (Charlotte, N.C.).
Lenoir-Rhyne starter Ryan Jones (Asheville, N.C.) was hit with the loss. Jones (1-4) gave up three earned runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings on the mound. He also had three strikeouts.
With Thigpen allowing just two hits through the first five innings, the Eagles pushed across a run in the first inning on a double by Mohan. A sacrifice fly by Dozier in the third drove in Rorex to give C-N a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles put the game away in the sixth with a pair of insurance runs, as Morgan Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) delivered a run-scoring single and Dalton produced a RBI double to give C-N a 4-0 cushion.
The Eagles return to action next Friday at Mars Hill. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
