NEWBERRY – Newberry split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Carson-Newman at the Smith Road Complex on Saturday, using a complete game performance from freshman Ryan Harbin in Game Two to earn their victory on the day.
Harbin improved to 2-0 on the season and saw his shutout bid last until the sixth inning of the 5-1 win. The West Columbia native limited the Eagles' (9-5, 2-1 SAC) offense to five hits in his seven innings of work, striking out four while issuing just one free pass.
Newberry (5-8, 1-2 SAC) scored a run in the second on an RBI single by Tyler Ackard and added another on a single by Colin Allman in the third, extending the sophomore shortstop's hitting streak to nine games and his reached base streak to 15 dating back to last season.
The Wolves' biggest inning came in the third, stringing together three consecutive singles before an error and a two-run single by Ian Clements put Newberry ahead 5-0.
The five runs were more than enough for Harbin, who breezed through the fifth inning and gave up three hits over the final two frames but stranded three baserunners to preserve the win.
Danton Hyman went 2-for-4 in Game Two, giving him four hits and three runs scored on the day and extending his hitting streak to a team-best 10 games. He was one of five Wolves to have multiple hits in an 8-7 loss in Game One that saw the lead change hands four times.
Carson-Newman's decisive inning came in the eighth, when a three-run triple off the bat of leadoff hitter Brett Langhorne put the Eagles in front for good. The Eagles had one on and two out before two singles loaded the bases for Langhorne.
Newberry scored all of its runs in the middle innings, scoring two apiece in the fourth and fifth before reclaiming the lead with a three-run sixth. Derek Olenchuk notched his team-leading 12th, 13th, and 14th RBI's of the season on a bases-clearing double in the sixth after a double and a pair of bunt singles put runners at every base for Newberry.
The teams combined to use 10 total pitchers in the contest, with Mike DeLee, Newberry's fifth hurler of the day, suffering the loss to fall to 0-2. Carson-Newman's Will Gardner earned the win in relief, striking out six and allowing two hits in his 3.1 innings of work.
Newberry hosts Lander Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. before going on the road for just the third time this season on Friday to open a three-game SAC series at Mars Hill.
