KODAK, Tenn. --- Tusculum College erased a five-run deficit and Nick Lacina drove home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Pioneers defeated Carson-Newman University 9-7 in an elimination game at the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament late Sunday night.
The third-seeded Pioneers (35-16) advanced to the championship round for the first time since 2012 by defeating the second-seeded Eagles (31-21), who had beaten the Pioneers four times in the previous nine days including a 10-2 win Sunday morning.
Creighton Wilke hit a grand slam, J.J. Wesley finished 3-for-6 with two runs scored and Zach Slagle shut out Carson-Newman over the final five innings as the Pioneers move on to face top-seeded Catawba Monday afternoon in the finals, which will begin slightly more than 12 hours after the Pioneers recorded the final out against the Eagles.
Tusculum trailed 7-2 in the fifth but cut the deficit to one on Wilke's slam, tied it in the sixth on a wild pitch and took the lead in the seventh on a double by Lacina. The Pioneers added an insurance run in the ninth, and Slagle slammed the door on the Eagles in the bottom half of the inning to cap off a day in which the Pioneers played 29 innings in three games spanning 14 hours.
Slagle (7-1) came on in relief in the fourth inning and allowed three hits and two runs, both in the fourth, while striking out five and walking two. Carson-Newman was limited to just four hits in the game while Tusculum piled up 11 hits in the game, including two each from Lacina, Kevin Victoriano and John Topoleski.
The Pioneers dashed to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Wesley reached on a bunt single, Zack Finchum was safe on an error and Victoriano picked up a bunt single to load the bases. Lacina then delivered a two-run single to drive home Wesley and Finchum for a 2-0 Pioneer lead.
The Eagles came back with a run in the bottom of the first as Ryan Addington singled and took second on a walk to Jimmy Rice. Addington and Rice then executed a double steal, with Addington scoring when the pitch got away from home plate.
Pioneer starter McKenly Berry carried the lead into the fourth inning, thanks in part to a line-drive double play started by Finchum at second base to end the second. However, the Eagles loaded the bases in the fourth on a walk and two hit batters, and a walk to Paul Kirby tied the game and ended Berry's night.
Slagle came on in relief and threw a wild pitch which gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead, and another hit batter loaded the bases. With two outs, Addington cleared the bags with a triple to left to give Carson-Newman a 6-2 lead, and Rice followed with a single to plate Addington for a 7-2 Eagle advantage.
Undaunted, the Pioneers came back in the fifth as relievers Greg Jones and Hunter Dodson combined to load the bases with no outs for Wilke, who unloaded for his eighth home run of the season and second in as many games to pull Tusculum within 7-6.
The Pioneers tied the game in the sixth as Wesley led off with a single and took second on a sacrifice by Finchum. A passed ball moved Wesley to third, and he scored on a wild pitch to knot the game at 7-7. Tusculum went on to load the bases on two walks and an error, but Carson-Newman ace Vince Apicella came in out of the bullpen to strike out two batters and keep the score tied.
After a scoreless seventh, the Pioneers regained the lead with a run in the top of the eighth. Victoriano singled with one out, and Lacina brought him all the way around with a double to the opposite field for an 8-7 Tusculum lead.
The Pioneers tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Topoleski led off with a single, took second on a passed ball, moved to third on an infield single by Wesley and scored on a two-out wild pitch by Eagle reliever Raunel Perez.
Berry worked 3 1/3 innings in his first start of the season for the Pioneers, allowing one hit but walking four and hitting two others. He was charged with five runs (four earned) and struck out five before giving way to Slagle. The Eagles put a runner on base with two outs in the ninth, but Slagle retired cleanup hitter Cade Snapp on a fly ball to Victoriano in right to end it.
Seven pitchers took the mound for the Eagles, with Robert Plohr working 3 2/3 innings after starter Grant Rabbitts failed to get out of the first inning. Plohr allowed one hit and no runs while striking out four and walking four. As a group, Carson-Newman pitchers walked nine and struck out 11 in the game, with Apicella (10-3) striking out five in 2 1/3 innings but taking the loss after allowing Lacina's go-ahead hit.
Catawba is the lone unbeaten team in the tournament, having picked up wins against Wingate, Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman. The Indians will be playing in its third consecutive SAC Baseball Tournament championship game, having defeated Wingate in 2014 and losing to the Bulldogs last season. Tusculum is making its seventh trip to the SAC finals, with its last appearance coming in 2012 when the Pioneers beat Wingate to capture the program's third conference tournament title.
The Indians took two out of three from the Pioneers during the teams' regular-season series March 4-5 in Salisbury, North Carolina. First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 1 p.m., with an if-necessary game to follow if Tusculum defeats Catawba. The champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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