Dalton's solo blast lifts Eagles to 6-5 win at King College
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Senior Jonathan Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.) delivered a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning for the game-winning hit, as the Carson-Newman baseball team defeated King College, 6-5, on Wednesday afternoon at King Field.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Senior Jonathan Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.) delivered a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning for the game-winning hit, as the Carson-Newman baseball team defeated King College, 6-5, on Wednesday afternoon at King Field.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 22-28 on the season. King drops to 20-22 overall.
C-N had success early in the contest, as a RBI double by Evan Patterson (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the third gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, junior Lance Rorex (Chattanooga, Tenn.) singled to lead things off and later scored on a groundout by Morgan Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) to give C-N a 2-0 advantage.
C-N pushed its lead to 5-0 with a three-run outburst in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run single by Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.).
However, the Tornado began to chip away at C-N's lead with a run in the fifth.
King then erupted for three runs in the sixth to pull to within 5-4. Tyler Gaby provided a run-scoring single in the inning, while Cody Snyder delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded.
King's Steven Mueller came through with a two-out solo blast in the seventh to knot the contest at 5-5, but Dalton answered with his 12th home run of the season to give C-N the lead for good.
C-N reliever Ryan Fillers (Greeneville, Tenn.) worked the final two innings for C-N, giving up just two hits and striking out one to seal the win and earn his fourth save of the season.
Freshman Lucas Watson (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) picked up the win to improve to 3-0 on the year after giving up four runs and six hits in two innings on the mound.
King Nick Melcher was tagged with the loss. Melcher (3-3) surrendered one run and two hits in three innings of work.
The Eagles finished with just five hits in the contest, as Rorex went 2-for-4 to lead the way.
King pounded out 14 hits on the day but left nine runners stranded. Snyder and Shane Timberlake each went 3-for-5 to lead the Tornado, while Mueller, Bryant Walker and Garrett Cook had two hits apiece.
The Eagles return to action on Saturday as they will close out their season with a doubleheader at Limestone College. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
