Eagles Sweep Crusaders
April 13, 2007
JEFFERSON CITY, TN-- The Carson-Newman Eagles swept an afternoon doubleheader with Belmont-Abbey to earn their 27th and 28th wins of the season. The Eagles won the first game 5-4 on a ninth inning RBI single by Adam Kefauver and won the second game 6-4.
Game 1: Carson-Newman-5; Belmont-Abbey 4
Kefauver's RBI single to left broke a 4-4 tie as the Eagles claimed Game 1 of the doubleheader, 5-4. Belmont-Abbey took the early lead when third baseman Nick Popp blasted a two-run homer to leftfield off Eagle starter Wes McIntyre for a quick 2-0 Crusader lead in the second inning. The Eagles rallied in the third inning. Mills Rogers was hit by a pitch to lead off that inning. Two batters later, Langdon Potts tripled to score Rogers and cut the Abbey lead to 2-1. With runners at first and third with one out, Derek Long hit an RBI groundout to third to score Potts and allow the Eagles to tie the game at 2-2.
The Crusaders reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning. Danny O'Brien drove in the first run of the inning with his two-bagger while Kyle Smith's sacrifice fly scored Popp for a 4-2 Crusader lead.
The Eagles claimed a run in the bottom of the fourth on a Rogers sacrifice fly, but didn't tie the game until Nick Achberger hit a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the eighth inning.
Brett Hontz (3-1) earned the win after giving up just one hit in 5 2/3 innings and recording eight strikeouts. Jason Cline took the loss after giving up the winning run in the ninth.
Game 2: Carson-Newman 6, Belmont-Abbey 4
The Eagles scored two runs in the second and third innings and held on in the seventh inning to defeat the Crusaders, 6-4 and earn a doubleheader sweep.
Carson-Newman (28-17) took a 1-0 lead in the first after Potts singled and stole second. After Achberger walked, Derek Long reached on an error. Two batters later, Adam Kefauver ripped an RBI single to score Potts for the one-run lead. The Crusdaders tied the game on a Will Breslin solo home run in the second inning, but the Eagles scored four runs the next two innings. In the second inning, Brandon Burchfield walked and stole second base with two outs. Potts also walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch by B-A starter Michael Rue while Burchfield went to third. Achberger laced a two-RBI single into right center to put the Eagles ahead 3-1. The Crusaders fought back with three runs in the third inning. An RBI single by Alex Udwari, an RBI double by Seth Waller, and a bases loaded walk to catcher Josh Cable gave Abbey a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the third, Long hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Michael Brown drove in Long with an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4. Brown advanced to second and third on sacrifice bunt and error, respectively. He later scored on a passed ball to give the Eagles a 5-4 lead. The Eagles held the Crusaders scoreless in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings behind the shutout pitching of Corbin Arial and Logan Simmons. C-N added an insurance run in the fourth on an RBI double by Derek Long.
In the top of the seventh inning, Mark Carroll gave up a leadoff walk and a single to put two runners aboard with no outs. Breslin flied out to center to put runners at the corners with one out, but Caroll got Popp to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and secure an Eagle victory. Carroll earned his seventh save of the season while Arial (2-1) got the win after going 1 2/3 innings with no runs and three strikeouts.
The Eagles return to the Silver Diamond to take on Lincoln Memorial in the final South Atlantic Conference regular season series of the 2007 season. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 12:00 p.m.
