Sunday, April 22, 2007

CARSON-NEWMAN WINS SAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT TITLE

"Tusculum Winning Streak Ends at 23 in a Row"

GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Carson-Newman scored three runs in the 12th inning and posted a 6-3 victory over Tusculum to win the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Stadium.

The second-seeded Eagles (35-18) claim the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Tusculum (44-12) will now await word on an at-large berth to the South Regional.

The game was a marathon affair that lasted 3:57, the longest game in SAC Tournament history and the sixth-longest game in the league.

Carson-Newman loaded the bases with one out in the first. Leftfielder Adam Kefauver drove in two runs with a single through the right side to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

In the home half of the first, Christian Rosa got the Pioneers on the board with an opposite-field solo home run, his eighth of the season, to trim the lead to 2-1.

The Pioneers would threaten to take the lead in the second. However, with runners at first and second and one out, Marc Hyndsman lined into a double play to end the rally.

In the third, Carlos Rivera singled and Rosa laced a base-hit to right to move Rivera to third. Matt Webb provided a sacrifice fly to left to plate Rivera, tying the game at 2-2.

In the Eagle seventh, Achberger hit a would-be inning ending grounder to Porter at second base. However, the ball went under Porter's glove, allowing Langdon Potts to score the go-ahead run from third.

After Tusculum tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Winslow, the Pioneers threaten to take the lead in the eighth. Rosa reached on an infield single on moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout, the Eagles intentionally walked both Paul Finger and pinch-hitter Maikol Gonzalez to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Aaron Hudgins hit a rocker liner that Langdon Potts snared to end the inning, keeping the game tied at 3-3.

Both teams could not dent the scoreboard until the Eagle 12th. Jason Gray led off with a walk while Derek Long, attempting to lay down a sacrifice bunt, reached base on a throwing error by the catcher Rosa, moving Gray all the way to third. Keafauver singled home Gray to break the tie. Long would score on a wild pitch and Cory McGinnis would double home a run

to give the Eagles the 6-3 lead and go on to the eventual victory.

Kefauver led Carson-Newman offensively, going 2-for-6 with a run scored and two runs batted in. Rosa led Tusculum with a 4-for-6 performance, including a run scored and a RBI.

Eagle reliever Steve Cishek (2-4) gets the victory, working the last 1.2 innings of play. The loss was charged to Pioneer reliever Mat Galens (2-1).

In the first game of the SAC Tournament Championship series, Carson-Newman scored 10 runs over the first four innings of play in defeating Tusculum 11-3 ending TC's 23-game winning streak. The last team to defeat Tusculum was Carson-Newman on Mar. 17.

In the first inning, Tusculum threatened to dent the scoreboard when Paul Finger hit a would-be single to right. However, Eagle right fielder Jason Gray made a diving catch to end the inning.

In the Carson-Newman half of the first, Landgdon Potts walked and Brandon Burchfield followed with an infield single. Nick Achberger continued his hot hitting by doubling down the line in left to plate Potts with the first run of the inning. Gray singled both runners home with a solid single back up the middle to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.

The Eagles extended their lead to 4-0 in the second when Achberger drove in his second run of the game with a RBI single through the left side.

In the third, Carson-Newman catcher Jim Doran doubled down the right-field line to plate a run while Cory McGinnis followed with a doubled down the line in left to plate Doran. Burchfield singled home a run while Achberger, who had a 3-for-4 day at the plate, notched his third RBI of the game, singling home a run.

Burchfield and McGinnis joined Achberger with three hits apiece. Finger went 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Pioneers.

Eagle starter Brett Hontz (3-1) went the distance, allowing only two earned runs while striking out five. The loss was charged to Pioneer starting pitcher Michael Handley (5-1).

Tusculum returns to action on Wednesday, hosting nationally-ranked USC Upstate for a 4 p.m. contest at Pioneer Park. It will be the final regular-season home game for Tusculum. TC also a three-game road series at Albany State University slated for this weekend in Georgia.

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