Mars Hill falls to Carson-Newman in conference home opener
The Mars Hill baseball team (6-10, 1-4 SAC) dropped both South Atlantic Conference games versus visiting Carson-Newman (15-3, 2-0 SAC) by scores of 14-7 and 12-4, respectively, Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill baseball team (6-10, 1-4 SAC) dropped both South Atlantic Conference games versus visiting Carson-Newman (15-3, 2-0 SAC) by scores of 14-7 and 12-4, respectively, Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
GAME ONE: C-N 14, MHU 7
The Eagles pounced on Mars Hill early, building an 8-0 lead entering the bottom half of the third inning. The scoring began in the first when Tyler Thompson's single up the middle plated two. Later in the inning, Thompson scored off of a Michael Wroth double down the right field line.
John Sharpe tagged a two-run home run in the top of the second to plate Ethan Goforth. Malik Kyle, following Sharpe, hit a solo home run to increase the Carson-Newman lead to 6-0 entering the third. A RBI groundout and Sharpe's RBI single in the top of the third gave the Eagles the eight-run lead before Mars Hill got on the board.
Brett Brubaker's double in the bottom of the third plated Devin Mangum to break the shutout bid. The Eagles' added another run in the top of the fifth with Sharpe's fourth RBI of the contest, a double to left center field.
In the bottom of the fifth, Mars Hill scored twice to cut the Eagles' lead to 9-3. Mangum scored his second run of the game off of a Daniel Vitello double while Brubaker recorded his second RBI of the game with a single to right field that scored Vitello.
Back-to-back solo home runs by the Eagles reestablished their eight-run lead in the top of the sixth. Cody Cline's RBI groundout in the bottom half of the frame plated Scottie Lee for the Lions' fourth run of the contest.
Adam Plouffe's solo home run in the top of the seventh pulled Mars Hill within six and after another Eagles' run in the top of the eighth, Mars Hill answered back as Lee scored on a wild pitch. Two RBI groundouts by Carson-Newman gave them the 14-6 lead in the top of the ninth. Brubaker's third RBI of the game scored Jordan Lathe, a single into right field.
Sharpe went 3-of-6 in the contest with a game-high five RBI. Goforth scored a game-high four runs. Brubaker led all players with four hits in the game.
Greg Valentine improved to 6-0 on the year, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out nine in six innings. Cameron Howell suffered the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in 1.1 innings pitched.
GAME 2: C-N 12, MHU 4
After going down 3-2, Carson-Newman scored 10 straight runs to lead them to the Saturday sweep over Mars Hill.
In the top of the fourth, the Eagles' Charlie Brown singled through the left side of the infield that allowed Tyler Thompson to score the tying run. Micah Genter then provided the Eagles the 4-3 lead with a double into left field that plated Michael Wroth. The Eagles added two more runs in the top of the fifth where two bases loaded walks extended the lead to three runs.
Thompson's RBI single in the sixth scored Malik Kyle and Jordan Griffin's two-run home run pushed the Eagles' lead to six entering the seventh. Thompson, with his second RBI of the game, drew a walk with the bases loaded. Griffin added another two RBI to his name with a double down the left field line that scored Hal Bishop and Ethan Goforth.
In the bottom of the seventh, Jordan Lathe's RBI groundout allowed Kameron Reynolds to score Mars Hill's fourth run of the game.
Carson-Newman opened the scoring in the top of the second with Michael Wroth's solo home run to right center field. Later in the frame, Genter's single up the middle scored Alan Silva to put the Eagles up 2-0.
A three-run third inning by the Lions gave Mars Hill their first lead of the day. With the bases loaded, Scottie Lee drew a walk that allowed Cody Cline to cross home. To take the lead, Austin Treadway ripped a two-run double down the left field line to plate Brett Brubaker and Matt Honeycutt to put Mars Hill up 3-2 entering the fourth.
Griffin led all players with five RBI in the game, going 2-of-4. Treadway led the Lions, going 2-of-3 with two RBI in the game.
Kyle Cagle earned the win, striking out the lone batter he faced in the bottom of the third. Troy Hall was credited with the loss, allowing six runs in four innings pitched.
Mars Hill has postponed their originally scheduled third game versus Carson-Newman from Sunday, March 3rd to Monday, March 4th. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.