Eagles take two from No. 22 Northern Kentucky
Feb. 14, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman baseball team earned two big wins over No. 22 Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The Eagles downed the Norse 8-3 in game one and kept their momentum going by winning the second contest 8-5.
C-N improves to 6-3 on the season, while Northern Kentucky falls to 0-2.
The Eagles pounded out 14 hits on the day, while Northern Kentucky finished with 15. Both teams had several miscues in the field, as C-N committed six errors and the Norse made nine.
"They are a good club and they will be a good club," Eagles coach Tom Griffin said. "You can tell that they haven't had a chance to be outside yet. I thought we played hard and were aggressive. We were able to take advantage of their mistakes."
In the first game, C-N starting hurler Ryan Hendrickson (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) (1-0) had a solid outing to pick up the win. The junior right-hander allowed one run on two hits and struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings of work.
Eagles reliever Corbin Ariail (Elgin, S.C.) (1) entered in the fifth inning and worked the last 4 2/3 innings to earn the save, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out three.
Norse starting pitcher Sean Munninghoff (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in four innings on the mound.
The Eagles finished the contest with seven hits led by Mills Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.), who went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Corey Lamson (Gray, Tenn.) also went 2-for-3, including a double and a triple, with two RBI. Aaron Vargas (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) went 2-for-2 for C-N on the afternoon.
Jeff Bohlen tallied three hits to lead Northern Kentucky, while Evan McDole added two hits in the loss.
The Eagles gave Hendrickson all the run support he needed in the bottom of the first inning. Rogers singled to drive in a run, and Lamson came through with a two-run double to give C-N a 3-0 lead.
Northern Kentucky got on the board in the top of the third, as Jeff Bohlen plated on an Eagles error to cut C-N's lead to 3-1.
After a scoreless bottom of the third inning, the Eagles pushed a run across the plate in each of the next five innings to build an 8-3 lead heading into the top of the ninth.
The Norse threatened to rally in the ninth, putting runners on first and second with no outs, but a spectacular play by right fielder Tyler Wynn (LaGrange, Ga.) gave C-N the spark it needed to close out the game. Northern Kentucky's Brett Hofmann drove a ball to deep right center that appeared to be headed to the wall, but Wynn made a diving catch to keep both runners in place.
Ariail was able to get the next two batters to ground out to end the game.
In the second game, Eagles third baseman Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) launched a solo home run over the left field fence in the home half of the third inning to break a 2-2 tie.
C-N then scored five more runs in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Dozier went 2-for-4 in the game with two RBI to lead C-N in the batter's box, while Wynn had one hit with two RBI.
Bohlen and Jake Morris each had two hits for Northern Kentucky.
C-N starter Justin Higdon (Ooltewah, Tenn.) (2-0) pitched five solid innings to earn the win. The senior right-hander surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out seven.
Northern Kentucky reliever Brandon Slusher (0-1) allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits in one inning of work to pick up the loss.
After Dozier's third inning home run gave C-N a 3-2 lead, the Eagles took advantage of three Norse errors in the bottom of the fourth and scored five runs on four hits to push their lead to 8-2. Wynn, Zach Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.), and Dozier each drove in a run in the inning.
The teams went scoreless in the next two innings, but Northern Kentucky made things interesting in the top of the seventh. Robby Liller, Bohlen and Evan McDole each drove in a run to cut C-N's lead to 8-5, but Eagles reliever D.J. Ferguson (Jupiter, Fla.) (1) entered the game with two outs and made Dusold ground out to end the threat and earn the save.
-C-N-
