April 2, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, TN-- Travis Battle hit a three-run homer as Tennessee Wesleyan defeated the Carson-Newman Eagles, 15-10 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.

Carson-Newman (22-14) trailed 2-0 after four and a half innings, but rallied in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jason Gray doubled and scored on Brandon Burchfield's RBI single. Langdon Potts drove in Jonathan McMahon to tie the game at 2-2.

The Bulldogs regained the lead in the sixth when Battle hit a bases loaded single for a 3-2 advantage while David Miller's RBI single and Mike Ziemke's fielder's choice scored two more runs for a 5-2 Eagles lead.

The Eagle bats exploded in the sixth inning. Adam Kefauver and Gray hit consecutive singles. Kefauver scored on an error by Bulldog catcher David Miller while Gray scored after Jonathan McMahon was hit by a Travis McDaniel pitch. A Burchfield single scored Joe Kugler and Mills Rogers while a Potts double scored McMahon and Burchfield for an 8-5 Carson-Newman lead.

That lead would not last, however, as Adam Reeves hit a two-RBI single to pull Wesleyan to within one run at 8-7 and set the stage for Battle's three-run homer off Eagle pitcher Michael Elliott to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.

Elliott took the loss for the Eagles after pitching one-third of an inning and giving up one run while Sammy Phillips earned the win in relief for the Bulldogs. Burchfield and Potts led the way at the plate as both went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs in the game.

The Eagles return to the Silver Diamond Complex to take on the Wingate Bulldogs in a key South Atlantic Conference series beginning with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday, March 31.