Eagles Take Down Maryville College, 9-2
March 11, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Junior Corey Lamson (Gray, Tenn.) went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs to help the Carson-Newman baseball team defeat Maryville College 9-2 Wednesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 14-10 overall. Maryville drops to 10-7 on the season.
C-N had a productive day the plate, collecting 10 hits, but Eagles head coach Tom Griffin was more pleased with his team's effort in the field and with his pitching staff walking just one batter.
"The defense had no errors, and that's no free extra base hits," Griffin said. "If you play good defense, you are going to be in games. We also had only one walk on the day, so obviously our pitchers did what they are supposed to."
Eagles starter Robby Thigpen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) (1-0) earned the win. The freshman right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and struck out two in five innings of work.
Maryville starting hurler Scott Ward (2-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering three runs on three hits in five innings on the mound. Ward also struck out three batters and walked four.
The bottom of C-N's lineup did most of the damage on the day. Lamson, Cody Nix (Cartersville, Ga.) and Mason Guymon (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) combined for seven hits, four RBIs and five runs scored. Nix and Guymon each went 2-for-3 and drove in a run. Derek Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.) added a two-run home run, his second of the season.
"We didn't hit well in the top of the order," Griffin said. "But the bottom of the order is what picked us up. That's something that hasn't happened that much all year. That's good to see."
Maryville finished with six hits on the afternoon. Jamey Davis went 3-for-4 with one RBI to lead the Scots.
C-N struck first in the bottom of the second, as Lamson's ninth double of the year drove in Mills Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.) to give C-N a 1-0 lead.
Maryville's Ben Peters tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth by blasting a solo home run over the fence in right center.
The Eagles added two runs in the home half of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Rory Elliott (Jefferson City, Tenn.) drove in a run on a fielder's choice to give C-N a 2-1 advantage. Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) then brought home Guymon with a sacrifice fly to right field for the final run of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Guymon perfectly executed a hit and run as he singled to right field to score Lamson from second and push C-N's lead to 4-1.
The Eagles put the game out of reach with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by Long's two-run home run over the left field fence.
C-N returns to the diamond on Saturday afternoon as it hosts Wayne State in a doubleheader beginning at noon. The series will conclude on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.
"They are very good," Griffin said. "Wayne State is a club that went to a regional last year. They've got a lot of good players returning. It's a good matchup. For us we look at this club as a team capable of being in the top half of our conference, so this is like a conference weekend for us."
