Rajkovich's single helps Eagle walk off with split against Newberry
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (18-21, 10-13 South Atlantic Conference) were able to salvage their season thanks to a walk-off comeback win in the second game against the Newberry Wolves (20-20, 11-12 SAC) Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The Eagles fell in game one 4-2 and took game two 2-1 in 11 innings.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
|
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0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final (11) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 1 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (18-21, 10-13 South Atlantic Conference) were able to salvage their season thanks to a walk-off comeback win in the second game against the Newberry Wolves (20-20, 11-12 SAC) Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The Eagles fell in game one 4-2 and took game two 2-1 in 11 innings.
"There's been a lot of proud moments in coaching," head coach Tom Griffin said. "With the way we played Wednesday, the way we responded today with our pitching and defense says a lot. The coaching staff is very ecstatic with how we responded today."
GAME ONE – Newberry 4 Carson-Newman 2
Newberry was able to get to Eagle starting pitcher Dustin Dunagan (Winder, Ga.) in the top of the first inning. After a strikeout, Dunagan allowed a walk and back-to-back singles that scored the game's first run on an RBI single by designated hitter Eric Barbieri.
The Eagles rallied to tie the score with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) collected his second hit of the game, a double to right field field. Sophomore left fielder Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) drove in his 28th run of the year with a dribbler into center field to tie the score at one.
Carson-Newman struck with two outs once again in the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior centerfielder Evan Kirkpatrick (Jefferson City, Tenn.) reached on an error to start the inning, but was standing at second base with two out. Roberts hit a looping single to left field to bring home Kirkpatrick and give the home club its first lead of the game at 2-1.
Dunagan made one bad pitch in 6.2 innings of work. With two outs and a pair of runners on base, the senior left a curveball up in the zone that third basemen Ryan Cranmer clubbed over the left field fence to give the visiting club a 4-2 lead.
Roberts finished with his seventh multi-hit game of the year going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Tipton went 2-for-4 with an RBI as the rest of the Eagle lineup collected just two hits in 26 at-bats.
Dunagan took the loss for the third straight start falling to 2-5 on the year after working 6.2 innings and allowing four earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
GAME TWO – Carson-Newman 2 Newberry 1 (11 innings)
After ten innings of scoreless play, the Wolves took a 1-0 lead on a one-out RBI double by Cranmer, but the Eagles had the heart of their order coming to the plate in the bottom of the 11th.
Junior right fielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) laced a single to left field to begin the frame. Junior first basemen Evan Jurjevic (New Carlisle, Ind.) was hit by a pitch to put the potential winning run on base. After a pop out, junior shortstop Bryan Everhart (Greeneville, Tenn.) tucked a single down the right field line to score Ausmus and tie the score at one. Kirkpatrick was put on bases on an intentional walk. After a fielder's choice retired Jurjevic at the plate, senior second basemen Peter Rajkovich (Stockton, Calif.) stepped to the plate. On a 2-1 pitch, Rajkovich laced a ball off of the pitcher's glove that bounced near the second base bag. Second basemen Brandon Sheridan threw a heave to first base, but Rajkovich was safe allowing Everhart to score and the Eagles to grab a 2-1 win in 11 innings.
"They were attacking me with fastballs all day," Rajkovich said. "I knew it was coming and I got ahead in the count and I hit the ball as hard as I could. I hit the ball up the middle and it worked."
Carson-Newman is now 3-0 this season in added frames as today's game marked the third walk-off win of the season.
Rajkovich notched his ninth multi-hit game of the year going 4-for-6 with one RBI while Ausmus and Everhart each went 2-for-4.
Sophomore starting pitcher Vince Apicella (Dillsburg, Pa.) worked seven innings for the third time this season yielding just four hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
The Wolves and the Eagles conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The game will be available in high definition by visiting cneagles.com/live.
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