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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum's Maikol
Gonzalez went 6-for-9 with a pair of doubles as the
Pioneers and Wingate split a South Atlantic Conference baseball
doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park. The Bulldogs
(19-31, 8-12 SAC) rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the opener 5-4,
while Tusculum (33-12, 11-9 SAC) rebounded with a dozen hits in a
9-2 victory in the night-cap.
Tusculum has its eight-game winning streak halted, while suffering
its first loss to the Bulldogs in 10 tries.
Game 1: Wingate 5, Tusculum 4
Two pitches, two hits are all that Wingate's Kevin
Childs needed as the Bulldogs fought back from a three-run
deficit to defeat Tusculum 5-4 in the first game of the day.
Trailing 3-0 heading into the seventh inning, Childs came off the
bench to pinch-hit as he sent the first offering by TC starter
Eric Donahue over the right field wall, while
Aaron Knowles aboard to trim the deficit to
3-2.
In the eighth inning, Blair Troutman came through
with a one-out, two-run double to center field to give Wingate the
lead 4-3. Childs with a double of his own, while was laced down the
left field line to plate Troutman with the insurance run. And need
it they would.
Tusculum mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth as
Aaron Hudgins drew a lead-off walk and moved to
third on Christian Rosa's single. With runners on
the corners, Carlos Rivera brought home Hudgins on
a fielder's choice, forcing out Rosa at second. Gonzalez doubled
down the right field line to put the winning runs in scoring
position.
But Wingate reliever Cameron Falcon struck out
the final two batters as the Bulldogs recorded the victory. Falcon
improves to 2-1 on the season as he pitched the final three
innings. TC reliever Mat Galens (3-1) suffered the
loss, despite tying a new school record with his 71st mound
appearance.
Childs went 2-for-2 with three RBI and a run scored, while
Spencer Robinson and Aaron
Knowles accounted for two hits each.
Gonzalez led all players with his 3-for-5 effort, while also
recording a pair of stolen bases. Matt Webb went
2-for-4, while Carlos Rivera drove home two RBI,
including his sixth home run of the season.
Game 2: Tusculum 9, Wingate 2
Tusculum plated four runs in the first inning as the Pioneers
bounced back with a 9-2 win in the second game. Gonzalez added
another three-hit performance, while Rosa, Webb and Brandon
Behenna each had two hits in the victory.
In TC's four-run first inning, eight Pioneers went to the plate.
Rosa and Rivera drew lead-off walks, while Gonzalez singled to load
the bases. After Webb was hit by a pitch to bring home of the first
run of the game, Eric Conley singled down the left
field line, scoring Gonzalez and Rivera and moving Webb to third.
Matt Ford drove in the fourth run of the frame
with a sacrifice fly as TC led 4-0.
Wingate got on board in the second when Matt
Crump blasted his second home run of the season, a solo
shot to left field. But TC got the run back in the bottom of the
inning as Adam Wilson led off with a walk and
scored on a RBI single by Rosa.
Tusculum added another run in the third and two more in the fourth
as Webb responded with a two-run double. Nick
Siega-Riz clubbed hi