Casson shines in doubleheader split with LMU
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Kolton Casson fired his first career complete game shutout in the series finale with Lincoln Memorial (5-6, 2-1 SAC) to help Carson-Newman (7-2, 1-2 SAC) salvage one game in the first South Atlantic Conference series of the season.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 12 | 13 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
VIDEO: Kolton Casson Interview
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Kolton Casson fired his first career complete game shutout in the series finale with Lincoln Memorial (5-6, 2-1 SAC) to help Carson-Newman (7-2, 1-2 SAC) salvage one game in the first South Atlantic Conference series of the season.
The Eagles dropped game one of the day 12-10, before producing its first shutout of the year in the series finale.
"Winning is hard to do in our conference," Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin said. "Having been down 2-0, I thought the guys did a great job of responding and getting a win. A lot of credit to LMU, especially in that first gam. They got down early and then their pitching kept them in it and they had two innings where they exploded. After those two innings, we just couldn't get back into it. Kolton Casson and Jacob Rogers just did a great job against a good hitting team. We also got some timely hitting in the second game as well."
Reaching base in both games of the doubleheader, Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) has now reached base safely in 43 straight games, matching Evan Jurjevic's 43-game streak in 2015.
Game One: Carson-Newman 10, Lincoln Memorial 12
Carson-Newman's offense was red-hot to start the day. Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) and Bradley Soto Diaz (Davenport, Fla.) RBI doubles plated two runs in the opening inning.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, C-N went right back to work offensively in the second. Leadoff singles from Braxton Smith (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Johno Pierce (Brentwood, Tenn.) put runners on second and third with one out. Maddox Greene (Watuga, N.C.) drove them in with a RBI groundout to make it 3-0 after two innings.
The Eagles would double the margin in the third. Another Soto Diaz double scored Cole Nathan (Knoxville, Tenn.) to make it 4-0 with one out. After a pitching change, Smith would make it 6-0 with a two-run double to left field.
LMU finally punched back and did so in a big way over the next three innings. The Railsplitters would score five runs in the bottom of the third inning, all with two outs. Brady Morse and Peyton Mullannix recorded back to back RBI hits to make it 6-3. An infield single and an error would plate two more runs to cap a five-run third for LMU. They sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-hit inning.
The bottom of the fourth was just as kind to the Railsplitters. Morse singled with runners on the corners to level the game with one out in the fourth. Two batters later with the bases loaded, Aaron Hobson cleared the bases with a double to left to make it 9-6. An infield hit and a fielder's choice plated two more runs in the frame and the Railsplitters led 11-6 after four frames.
Two-out hitting in the fifth increased the lead again. Matti drove in Morse with a single to center to double up C-N and make it 12-6. The Railsplitters scored 12 straight runs in three innings.
Carson-Newman's answer would be quick and come in the top of the sixth inning. Greene drove in his second run of the game with a sac fly to make it 12-7. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) cut into the margin with his first career triple, which drove in two runs. A LMU fielding error allowed C-N to score its fourth run of the sixth and make the score 12-10.
Both teams' pitching staffs would silence the high-scoring affair in the final three frames. C-N recorded just two hits, and they came back-to-back. After a Pierce single, he was thrown out trying to score on a Jacob Rogers (Dandridge, Tenn.) double and that's how the seventh inning ended.
Alec Wilson (Baxter, Tenn.) was spectacular out of the bullpen in his second career outing. After entering in the fifth, Wilson tossed four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Only two LMU hitters reached in the final three innings against Wilson.
Christian Henderson (Clarksville, Tenn.) got the start for C-N, going 2 2/3 innings allow five hits and five runs, all five were unearned.
Gavin Griner (Holly Pond, Ala.) suffered his first loss, allowing two runs and recording just two outs.
Soto Diaz had three hits and Floyd had three RBI.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 4, Lincoln Memorial 0
Two-out offense in the first put C-N ahead early. Nathan poked a single out to right field to score Greene and give the Eagles an early 1-0 advantage.
Kolton Casson's (Benton, Tenn.) most stressful inning came in the first. A leadoff single and a two-out single put runners on the corners. Casson recovered and forced Hobson into a groundout to end the inning.
The Eagles' lead would grow in the third. Matthew Bishop's first career RBI was a single to score Greene to make it 2-0. The next batter was Soto Diaz and he delivered with a RBI single as well, scoring Floyd to make it 3-0 Eagles in the third.
Casson got into a rocking chair over the next few innings, sending down the LMU lineup in order in the second and third innings.
LMU's third hit off Casson came at the start of the fourth, but the threat ended quickly as Hobson lined into an inning-ending double play.
Casson's fifth inning was a clean 1-2-3 effort. He allowed a one-out single in the sixth, but a pair of pop outs gave LMU no hope in the inning.
The Eagles would add a run of insurance in the seventh inning with two outs. Floyd doubled home Gibson to make it 4-0.
Casson's seventh inning was his fourth 1-2-3 frame of the night to seal his first career complete game shutout. It's the sophomore's seventh career complete game and first of the season. The right-hander allowed just four hits and struck out five to improve to 3-0 in his first three starts of the year.
Greene, Nathan and Soto Diaz all produced two-hit days in the series finale to help with the four-run and nine-hit effort.
LMU starting pitcher Eli Edds took the loss in the finale, tossing five innings of three run ball with six strikeouts.
Carson-Newman is back in action on Tuesday at Alabama Huntsville. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. eastern time (2pm central time) from Charger Park. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work with a feed of press row on YouTube.
