FOREST CITY, N.C. --- Cody Fox's walk-off double in the ninth inning lifted sixth-seeded Carson-Newman to a 9-8 win over No. 3 seed Tusculum Saturday in an elimination game of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament.

The Eagles (21-25) advance to Sunday action and will face No. 5 seed Lincoln Memorial, the only remaining unbeaten team left in the tournament. The Pioneers (29-18) are eliminated from the tournament, ending TC's bid to claim its second straight SAC Tournament title.

Fox hit the game-winning double off the centerfield wall to drive in Joe Tipton, who led off the ninth with a walk and later moved to second on a wild pitch.

Fox went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, two RBI and a run scored to lead the Carson-Newman offense. Brandon Roberts was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Bo Ausmus had a homer and two RBI for the Eagles. Tipton added a double, an RBI and scored twice, including the game-winner.

All-SAC designated hitter Joe Polichetti was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored to lead the Tusculum attack. Trey Drewery added a triple, two RBI and two runs scored, while Jalen Shuffler was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Tusculum got on the board in the first when Shuffler led off the game with a double, then scored on an RBI groundout from Cade Stallings.

Carson-Newman answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Tipton plated the first run with an RBI double to right center. The next two runs would score on a Tusculum throwing error to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

Carson-Newman took a 4-1 lead on a Brandon Roberts' sacrifice fly in the second inning. The Eagles added a run in the third on an RBI single from Fox, making it 5-1.

The Pioneers scored twice in the fourth frame to cut the lead to two. Drewery plated the first run of the inning with his fourth triple of the year and later scored on an RBI single from Polichetti to make it 5-3.

Carson-Newman answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Roberts plated the first run with an RBI single, while a two-run homer from Ausmus to center made it 8-3.

Tusculum scored a pair of runs in the sixth to cut into the lead. Drewery drove home the first run with an RBI double to left center, while an RBI single from Polichetti made it 8-5.

The Pioneers scored three more times in the eighth to knot the score at 8-8. Pinch hitter Taylor Foster drove home the first run of the frame with an RBI single. Shuffler followed with an RBI double down the left field line to cut the lead to one. A squeeze bunt from Vinny Ferrera plated pinch-runner Tanner Maloof to tie the game.

Tipton started the ninth by drawing a lead-off walk. He would move to second on a wild pitch. Fox then ripped a 2-1 pitch off the middle of the wall in center, allowing Tipton to score the game-winning run.

Polichetti capped off a fine SAC Tournament as he went 6-for-10 in his three games in Forest City.

Ryan Fillers got the win, improving to 2-3. He allowed a run on two hits in 1.2 innings, striking out two. TC reliever John-Austin Shepard suffered his second loss of the day, falling to 6-3. The two-time All-SAC reliever allowed a run on a hit in one inning of work, striking out one and walking one.
Tusculum returns to action next weekend as the Pioneers travel to Indiana for a three-game series at Oakland City.

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