JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Newberry was outhit 7-6 by Carson-Newman in the first game of a three-game South Atlantic Conference series, but the Wolves took advantage of three Eagles' errors to plate three unearned runs in a 4-3 win on Friday afternoon.
Newberry (32-8, 15-1 SAC) won its 12th consecutive conference game to remain in first place in the league standings and captured its 12th win in 13 games overall.
The Wolves fell behind 1-0 in the first inning on a leadoff home run by Carson-Newman (22-16, 5-10 SAC) catcher Ethan Goforth but roared back to take the lead with a pair of unearned runs in the second. A walk and a
Luke Orr single put two on with one out before a fielding error loaded the bases.
Ian Clements rolled what looked to be a double play ball that would have gotten the Eagles out of the inning, but a wild throw from the second baseman allowed two runs to score on the play. The Wolves would not relinquish the advantage the rest of the way.
Newberry got back-to-back singles from
Danton Hyman and
Zane Tarrance and added to the lead with another unearned run in the third inning.
Both pitchers then began to settle in. Carson-Newman's Greg Valentine, who entered the game tied for the league lead with seven wins, sat down 13 Newberry batters in a row before a costly seventh-inning walk, while
Charlie Fessler allowed two total baserunners from the third through sixth innings.
After Clements worked the two-out walk in the seventh,
Dalton Lansdowne singled through the right side to put two on for
Danton Hyman. The center fielder shot the third pitch he saw down the left field line for an RBI single.
The insurance run would prove to be critical. A hit batsman and an RBI double spelled the end of the day for Fessler, who earned the win in six-plus innings of work.
Quinton Driggers came on in relief, giving up a double and seeing a run score on a passed ball, got a groundout to end the inning with the Wolves ahead 4-3.
The left-hander gave up a hit in the eighth but stranded two more with consecutive strikeouts to end the inning. Down to their final strike the Eagles put a man on first with a throwing error, but a fielder's choice preserved the one-run win for Newberry.
The result gave Driggers a save in each of his last four SAC appearances after starting the year 7-0. He has not given up an earned run in 21.1 innings of work against conference opponents and has a 20.2-inning scoreless streak in all games.
Danton Hyman extended his reached-base streak to 47 games with his 23rd multi-hit game of the season. He also had an RBI, with Clements providing the other on a fielder's choice in the second inning.
The Wolves and Eagles meet twice tomorrow, beginning at noon, to settle the season series.
