Eagles Fall To Fla. Gulf Coast, 10-2
May 17, 2007
TAMPA, Fla.-- The Carson-Newman Eagles fell behind early and could only manage a pair of runs in the eighth inning as fourth-seeded Florida Gulf Coast defeated the Eagles, 10-2 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Regional.
Carson-Newman (36-19) held Florida Gulf Coast scoreless until the second inning when Gulf Coast first baseman Jason Peacock hit a two-RBI double off C-N starter Matt Teague (7-2) and advanced to third on a throwing error for a 2-0 Gulf Coast lead.
The Eagles had opportunities after twice getting runners on first and third in the first and fifth innings, but Gulf Coast starter Casey Coleman managed to get Brandon Burchfield in a rundown in the first inning and forced a groundout by Langdon Potts and a foul out by Jonathan McMahon to end the Eagle threat in the fifth.
Carson-Newman ended their scoring drought in the eighth inning when Burchfield walked and Adam Kefauver hit a single to put runners at first and second with one out. After Jason Gray was hit by a pitch, Jim Doran laced a two-RBI single to cut Gulf Coast's lead to 6-2.
However, Florida Gulf Coast tacked on four runs on RBI singles from Ozzie Borrell, Derek Mollica, and Jason Peacock to dash any hope of a Carson-Newman comeback.
With the loss, the Eagles drop to the losers bracket and will face top seed Tampa on Friday, May 18 at 3:00 p.m. Tampa defeated Stillman, 5-3 while second seeded Tusculum defeated fifth seed Florida Southern, 4-1 in the early games of the regional.
