Eagles Drop Season Opener to Augusta State in Ninth, 5-4
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State took advantage of a ninth-inning miscue by Carson-Newman and rallied for two runs Friday afternoon for a 5-4 victory over the Eagles in the season opener for both teams at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State took advantage of a ninth-inning miscue by Carson-Newman and rallied for two runs Friday afternoon for a 5-4 victory over the Eagles in the season opener for both teams at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
Jaguar sophomore outfielder Preston Pye reached to start the ninth when he was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt and groundout advanced him to third, putting the tying run 90 feet away.
With two outs, sophomore shortstop Kevin Dodson worked the count on the Eagles' Ryan Fillers before also getting hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners with Jeff Rice looming in the on-deck circle.
Rice, a sophomore second baseman who lead ASU in hitting as a freshman, lined a shot to deep center, forcing Carson-Newman centerfielder Cody Fox to retreat. When the ball bounced off Fox's glove, both Pye and Dodson, who were off to the races on contact, were able to score and steal a win for the Jags.
The teams combined for 14 hits but headed to the eighth inning tied 3-3. Bryan Everhart's RBI-single to right scored a run, but a Clay Tucker-to-Rice-to-Justin Appel relay gunned down another possible Eagle run, keeping the lead just one for Carson-Newman heading into the ninth.
Wilson Taylor (1-0) tallied the win for the Jags after pitching two innings, giving up an earned run on two hits in relief. Fillers (0-1) took the hard-luck loss for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman's two All-South Atlantic Conference selections, Lucas Mohon and Mason Guymon, each had two hits for the Eagles.
Sophomore Zach Long added a double for Carson-Newman, one of only three extra-base hits in the game.
Junior Ryan Fillers (LP, 0-1) took the loss for the Eagles, but didn't allow an earned run in 1.2 innings. Chris Armstrong started for the Eagles and held ASU to two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
C-N hurt its own cause with four errors.
Junior first baseman Seth Foster went 2-for-3 and scored three runs, while Matt Smith was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Newcomer Clay Tucker, a sophomore transfer from Furman, enjoyed a 2-for-4 effort in his Jaguar debut.
The teams return to LOS Saturday to conclude their annual season-opening series with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
