SAC Baseball Championship Day One Recaps

No. 6 Carson-Newman 5, No. 1 Catawba 1

FOREST CITY, N.C. - Carson-Newman University second team All-SAC selection Chris Armstrong tossed a complete game against top-seeded Catawba College Thursday afternoon, leading the sixth-seeded Eagles to a 5-1 victory on day one of the 2013 Food Lion SAC baseball tournament at McNair Field. Carson-Newman improves to 20-24 overall, advancing to take on the loser of Thursday night's Newberry vs. Tusculum game Friday afternoon. Catawba falls to 34-15 and will face the loser of the Wingate vs. Lincoln Memorial contest on Friday.

Brandon Roberts went two-for-four with a pair of RBI to lead the Carson-Newman offense. Cody Fox went one-for-four with two RBI, while Kevin Franchetti added a homer for the Eagles.

Paul Kronenfeld was one-for-four with an RBI to lead the Catawba attack. Blake Houston and Ethan Satterfield had a pair of hits each for the Indians, while SAC Player of the Year Chris Dula went one-for-four with a double.

The first four innings went scoreless, with Armstrong and Catawba's SAC Pitcher of the Year Nick Lomascolo limiting the offenses to just four hits while piling up a combined 12 strikeouts.

­Carson-Newman got on the board in the fifth. After a pair of strikeouts started the frame, Bryan Everhart ripped a two-out single through the left side. Zach Long followed with a single down the right field line, while a walk would load the bases. Roberts lined a two-run single to right to give the Eagles the lead.

Catawba cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff error put Catawba's Keaton Hawks on second base, while a bunt single from Houston moved him to third. He would score on Kronenfeld's RBI single through the right side to make it 2-1.

The Eagles had the answer in the top of the seventh when Franchetti led off the frame with his eighth homer of the year, a solo shot over the 25-foot wall in left to push the lead back to two.

Carson-Newman added two more runs in the eighth. Roberts started the frame with a single, then went to third on a two-out double from Evan Jurjevic. A two-out, two-run single up the middle gave the Eagles a 5-1 advantage.

That would be plenty for Armstrong, who improves to 7-5 on the year. He allowed nine hits on the day, eight of which were singles. Armstrong piled up 11 strikeouts without walking a batter while allowing one unearned run, throwing 123 pitches on the day. Lomascolo falls to 9-3 on the year. He allowed five runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out nine and walking one.

No. 5 Lincoln Memorial 5, No. 2 Wingate 2

FOREST CITY, N.C. - Lincoln Memorial University senior left-hander Brandon Cowan held the second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs to just four hits Thursday afternoon, leading the fifth-seeded Railsplitters to a 5-2 victory on day one of the 2013 Food Lion SAC baseball tournament at McNair Field. LMU improves to 23-23 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 29-19 on the season.

Lincoln Memorial will face the winner of Thursday night's Tusculum vs. Newberry contest Friday at 7:30 p.m. Wingate will take on top-seeded Catawba Friday at 12 p.m. The Indians lost to sixth-seeded Carson-Newman 5-1 in the day's first game.

Scott Miller was two-for-three with a double, RBI and two runs scored to lead the LMU attack. Curt Fuqua added a double, RBI and run scored for the Railsplitters, while Cody Baker was one-for-four with a triple and run scored.

The Bulldogs were held to four singles on the afternoon. Michael Godinez was one-for-two while also drawing a walk. Eric Serra, Bill Krebs and Blake Prince added singles for Wingate, while Brad Cherry drove in the lone run.

LMU got on the board in the top of the first. Miller lined a one-out double to right center, then went to third on a flyout from Fuqua. He would score on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.

The Railsplitters added four runs in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead. The first two hitters were retired with a flyout and strikeout. A pair of two out walks, followed by an RBI single from Miller made it 2-0. Fuqua followed with an RBI single to right center to push the advantage to three. A Wingate throwing error would allow two more runs to score, giving the Railsplitters a 5-0 lead.

Wingate got on the board in the fifth. Josh Clark drew a leadoff walk, then went to third on a Prince single. He would score on Cherry's RBI groundout. An LMU error would allow Prince to score, making it 5-2.

Cowan threw 145 pitches on the afternoon, striking out six and walking five while allowing one earned run on four hits, improving to 5-2. Junior right-hander Stephen Vaughan took the loss for Wingate, falling to 4-3. He allowed three earned runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking three.

No. 3 Tusculum 7, No. 6 Newberry 1

FOREST CITY, N.C. - The third-seeded Tusculum College Pioneers got a complete game from senior right-hander Taylor Rakes Friday night, defeating fourth-seeded Newberry College 7-1 in the final game of day one in the 2013 Food Lion SAC baseball tournament at McNair Field. Tusculum improves to 29-16 overall while the Wolves fall to 27-21 on the season.

Tusculum will take on Lincoln Memorial Friday at 7:30 p.m. Newberry will face Carson-Newman Friday at 3:45 p.m. Both games will take place at McNair Field.

Matt Henriksen had a triple, two RBI and a run scored to lead the Tusculum attack. Jalen Shuffler was two-for-four with an RBI and a run scored, while Joe Polichetti was two-for-three with an RBI and two runs scored. Pat Holleran added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Pioneers.

Albert Baur was one-for-three with an RBI to lead the Newberry offense. Ryan Cranmer was two-for-four with a run scored, while Eric Barbieri was two-for-three with a double for the Wolves.

Tusculum plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, getting a two-out, two-run triple to right center from Henriksen.

The Pioneers took a three-run lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Shuffler. Polichetti added an RBI single in the fifth to make it 4-0.

Newberry got on the board in the sixth when a sacrifice fly from Baur plated Cranmer, who reached on a one-out single, then stole second.

Tusculum answered with a run in the sixth when Shuffler reached on a one-out single, went to second on a groundout, then scored on a wild pitch to push the lead back to four.

The Pioneers plated two more runs in the seventh. Holleran got it started with an RBI double down the right field line, while another wild pitch plated the final run of the evening.

Rakes got the win, improving to 6-2. The second team All-SAC selection notched his second complete game of the year, allowing a run on nine hits while throwing 127 pitches. Jonathan Rosenberger took the loss, falling to 8-2. The first team All-SAC selection allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking four.