JEFFERSON CITY, TN - Lenoir-Rhyne fell 10-9 in their series opener at Carson-Newman on Friday afternoon. In a back and forth game between two SAC rivals, there were five lead changes and both teams scored at least one run through innings 5-8.
Sal Carricato and
Mackenzie Wainwright combined for two home runs, four hits, and five runs driven in as four different Bears finished with at least two hits.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game Final: #10 Lenoir-Rhyne 9, Carson-Newman 10
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (32-7), Carson-Newman (29-11)
Location: Silver Diamond Baseball Complex I Jefferson City, TN
STORY OF THE GAME:
- Bears jumped ahead 1-0 off an RBI SAC Fly by Sal Carricato in the top of the 1st.
- After starting the inning with the bases loaded, Andrew Harlow only surrendered an RBI ground out to Cole Nathan to even the score in the 1st.
- Harlow and Andrew Bench pitched scoreless frames heading into the 5th until Mackenzie Wainwright gave the Bears the lead off his 18th home run of the season.
- Carson-Newman would respond with four runs off an RBI single by Logan Floyd and a three-run blast by Aiden Gibson to give the Eagles a 5-2 lead after five.
- Eli Willen punched a two-run single to right field with two outs to cut the Carson-Newman lead to one in the top of the 6th.
- Cole Nathan's triple in the bottom of the 6th extended the lead back to four with two outs.
- Lenoir-Rhyne started the 7th with the bases loaded and generated three runs off an RBI ground out, balk, and a Tyler Bradley RBI single.
- Pinch-runner Kylan Hornbuckle scored on a throwing error by the Bears to extend the lead to 9-7 heading into 8th.
- Sal Carricato crushed a pitch to deep centerfield to tie the game 9-9 in the top of the 8th.
- Cole Nathan drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI single to center field.
- Tyler Bradley led off the inning with a double but was left stranded after an Owen Blackledge strikeout with runners on the corners.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Wainwright went 2-for-3 with a solo shot home run, three walks, and four runs scored.
- The Bears were walked 12 times which is the second most in a game this season (13 vs. Trevecca Nazarene).
- Seven of the nine hitters collected at least one hit while the Bears combined for 11+ hits for the fifth straight game.
- Andrew Harlow threw 5.0 IP allowing five earned runs off seven hits while also punching out six Eagle hitters.
- Gavin Marley stroke out three batters after inheriting runners back-to-back walks in the 8th.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Wainwright extended his hitting streak to 29 games and has six straight multi-hit games.
- Sal Carricato now has six games this season driving in four or more runs for the Bears.
- With Wainwright's 18th home run of the season, he has now tied the school's single season home run record set by Tyler McPeak in 2023.
- Cole Stanford extended his hitting streak to seven games while Cole Laskowski pushed his hitting streak to five games.
- Andrew Harlow is tied for 9th all-time in strikeouts in a season with Chris Henderson (85).
- Sal Carricato is tied for 5th most in RBI's in a career (160) in LR history with Brian Dice (2008-2011)
UP NEXT: The Bears will continue the three-game series at Carson-Newman tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.