No. 6/3 Catawba’s late comeback spoils C-N’s upset bid in extra innings of series opener
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-10, 2-8) jumped out to an early lead, but it was No. 6/3 Catawba (15-3, 9-1) that had the late-game heroics to take game one of the three-game set on a Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 0 |
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0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-10, 2-8) jumped out to an early lead, but it was No. 6/3 Catawba (15-3, 9-1) that had the late-game heroics to take game one of the three-game set on a Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"That's an outstanding club. It always has been coach Gantt and his staff; they're going to be well disciplined, they're not going to make a lot of mistakes. You've got to beat them, because they're not going to beat themselves," Head coach Tom Griffin said. "Today we got better, even though it was a loss. It stings, especially the way it took place, but we're going to take something from it. I think the staff did a great job getting them prepared, and gave ourselves a chance to win."
The loss continues a tough stretch since South Atlantic Conference play began. It marks the second time in three weeks that the Eagles face a top ten team after playing host to No. 10/6 Lenoir-Rhyne two weeks ago.
Ryan Higgins (Spotsylvania, Va.) got the start for C-N, and he produced a pair of scoreless frames to get things going, as it was the Eagles that struck first against Colt Wilkins.
After threatening in the first, C-N jumped in front in the second. It started with a leadoff double from Sebastian Rodriguez (Greensboro, N.C.), followed by an Aiden Gibson (Cleveland, Tenn.) single put runners on the corners with no one outs. As Ryan Bolton (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove in Rodriguez with a single, then a sacrifice fly from Braxton Smith (Cleveland, Tenn.) increased the advantage, 2-0.
Following another zero from Higgins, the Eagles doubled their lead in the third, Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) led off the inning with a single, another base hit from Seth Benner (Morgantown, Ind.) put two on. After a double steal, Gibson picked up his second base hit, going backside to right field driving in both Floyd and Benner, 4-0.
The two sides were held scoreless in the fourth to keep the advantage at four. However, in the fifth, Catawba would get rid of its goose egg on an infield single from Sam Hunter, driving in Ty Hubbard, 4-1.
The sixth went by with no damage done, but then it was the Catawba offense that came to life in the seventh, notching five consecutive hits, and six straight batters getting on to take its first lead of the afternoon.
It began with the team's top hitter and reigning SAC Player of the Week, Brandon Crabtree, smacking a deep double to center, followed by a double down the left field line by Hunter to cut into the deficit. After an infield single from Hunter Atkins, Matthew Connolly launched a no-doubt three-run shot over the wall in left center, 5-4. It was his fifth home run of the season.
Eli Norris (Ringgold, Ga,) came in relief during that inning and held Catawba scoreless in the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, it was déjà vu for the Eagles, as Rodriguez kick-started the inning with a double and then a base hit to center by Gibson tied the game, 5-5. It was Gibson's third RBI of the day.
As both sides went down in order in the ninth, it sent the contest to extra innings. The first trip to extras for C-N this season.
Ty Hubbard led off with a double in the top half, before Norris put the next two down on strikeouts. With a dangerous part of the order up, C-N intentionally walked Crabtree and Hunter, loading the bases with two away. However, disaster struck as a wild pitch skipped away, but a good recovery from Kevin Hammond (Keller, Tex.) flipped it back to Norris who appeared to have Hubbard caught in hot water, but the ball popped out of his glove on the tag, giving Catawba the lead back, 6-5.
In the bottom half of the tenth, Gibson got on with a two-out base hit, but a groundout closed the book on the upset bid for the Eagles.
Floyd, 3-for-5, Gibson, 4-for-5, and Rodriguez, 2-for-5, were the key contributors on offense, all having multi-hit days. It was especially strong for Gibson, who at times has struggled during his senior season, as he finished with a trio of RBIs.
"It's been a down year, and Aiden knows that. That's part of the game, and it's part of the process. We talked about a couple of things this week, some slight adjustments, some of it mental, some of it physical," Griffin said. "he's a veteran guy who's given a lot to this program on and off the field. So that was exciting for him. I was happy for him. The big hit to tie the game, great feeling for him, because he hasn't had that a lot this year, and so that was good."
Despite the crushing loss, in a period where Carson-Newman has dropped eight of its last nine, the beauty in baseball presents another chance tomorrow.
"We talk about process, not results, and these are all life lessons, man, I'm telling you, it's phenomenal, not only for the players, but for the coaches. These are great lessons that it too shall pass," Griffin said. "We've got to stay faithful with each other and the process. Just like in life, when things aren't going right, we stay faithful to God's plan, and whatever he's throwing at us, there's a reason for it. We accept that, and we keep moving forward."
The series continues and concludes tomorrow afternoon. First pitch for the doubleheader tomorrow is set for 12:00 p.m. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flobase. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work with a feed of press row on YouTube.
