Wednesday, April 25, 2007

TUSCULUM BREAKS SEASON RECORD FOR WINS, PIONEERS SINK NO. 24 SPARTANS 13-4

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The No. 14 Tusculum College baseball team established a new season record with its 45^th victory as the Pioneers defeated No. 24 USC Upstate 13-4 Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Park. The victory eclipses the 44-win tally by the 2005 squad while TC (45-12) records its 12^th straight home triumph in the final regular season contest at Pioneer Park this year. Tusculum has gone 26-3 at home this year, a new school best.

Both teams muscled out a combined 31 hits, including 16 by the Pioneers. Carlos Rivera (Leesburg, Va.) went 3-for-5 with five RBI. Andrew Winslow (Ashburn, Va.) had a career outing as he went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Christian Rosa (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) posted three hits, while Marc Hyndsman (Morristown, N.J) recorded two singles and a pair of walks. Rosa also accounted for three stolen bases in the game, giving him 24 on the season, tying a TC single-season mark.

The Spartans (32-21) finished the game with 15 hits, including John Caddell's 4-for-5 effort. Brian Dempsey (Montverde, Fla.) was a home run short of hitting for the cycle as he went 3-for-5 for USC Upstate.

Tusculum starter C.J. Hillyer (Abington, Mass.) recorded his eighth win of the season (8-1) as he tossed six innings, scattered 10 hits and allowed a pair of runs.

USC Upstate jumped out to a 2-0 lead early with a pair of scoring tallies in the second inning. Mike Colecchi (Oxford, Mass.) led off with a single, moved to second on a bunt and came into to score on Dempsey's triple to the left field corner. He would score himself, later in the inning, on a wild pitch.

Tusculum answered with three runs in the bottom of the second as the Pioneers used five hits, including RBI singles by Rivera, Rosa and Michael Axt (Woodstock, Ga.). Leading 3-2, TC added five more runs in the next frame as 11 Pioneers came to the plate. Tusculum used five hits again, including a two-run double by Winslow and Rivera's two-base single as the Pioneers led 8-2.

TC plated four more runs in the sixth inning as Rivera answered with another two-run single, while Winslow drove in a run with his fourth hit of the afternoon.

The Spartans were held scoreless until the eighth inning as Dempsey hit a one-out double and moved to third on Kyle Bowley's (Apopka, Fla.) base hit. Both would score on Caddell's ninth double of the year.

Each team had plenty of chances to score as both squads stranded a combined 25 runners on base (TC 13, Upstate 12).

Tusculum will close out the regular season this weekend when they travel to Albany State University for a three-game series, beginning with Saturday's 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Spartans will be at ninth-ranked Columbus State University for a three-game conference slate, starting with Friday night's 6 p.m. contest.

- TC -