GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Dante Key went 6-for-7 and scored four runs on the day, while Ethan Carpenter pitched a two-hit shutout in the night-cap as Tusculum swept a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Mars Hill Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.
The Pioneers (9-7, 3-2 SAC) pounded out 22 hits, including 10 in a 10-run fourth inning as TC won the opener 19-8. Carpenter tossed his third career shutout in game two as TC prevailed 3-0.
Game 1: Tusculum 19, Mars Hill 8
Key and Jeremy Glore each finished with four hits, while Colby Skeen drove in a career-high six runs and came up a triple short of hitting for the cycle in Tusculum's 19-8 win over Mars Hill in the series opener.
Key went 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Glore posted a 4-for-6 performance with four runs scored and two RBI. Skeen tallied a single, a double and a three-run homer as his six RBI effort is tied for the sixth-most by a Pioneer. Edison Cabrera accounted for two hits, three runs and two RBI, while Nick Lacina, John Topoleski and Daulton Martin each finished with two hits apiece.
Tusculum starter Tim Hardy picked up the win to improve to 4-0 on the season. Hardy went 5.1 innings, allowed five hits, seven runs, five walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts. Chase McAllister pitched the final 3.2 innings to secure his second save of 2017. He scattered three hits, allowed one run, walked three and struck out eight.
Mars Hill finished the game with eight hits, including three from Brett Brubaker to go along with his four RBI.
TC jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Zach Lippincott's RBI double down the left field line in the first inning. Mars Hill took the lead with two runs in the third inning to up 2-1.
In the top of the fourth, the Pioneers sent 14 batters to the plate as Topoleski drove in three runs on his two singles in the frame as TC regained the lead at 11-2. MHU trimmed the deficit with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and three more in the sixth as Mars Hill trimmed the deficit to 11-8.
Tusculum put the game out of reach with fourth in the seventh, highlighted by a Skeen two-run double. The Pioneers added four more in the eighth, including Skeen's three-run blast to right field.
Game 2: Tusculum 3, Mars Hill 0
Carpenter pitched his second complete game of the season while the Pioneers scored one run in each of the last three innings in a 3-0 Tusculum victory.
Carpenter (2-2) scattered two hits, walked three and recorded eight strikeouts in his third consecutive game.
Tusculum got a base-runner aboard in every inning including the first four, but the Pioneers were unable to scratch a run against MHU starter Zac Brown.
TC broke through in the fifth inning when Key got on with a one-out double. After a ground out moved Key over to third, Cabrera legged out an infield single to bring in Key with the game's first run.
In the sixth, Skeen led off with a walk, moved to second on a bunt and scored on Lacina RBI single. TC added a run in the seventh, thanks to a Skeen RBI ground out.
Carpenter cruised through the first six innings as he allowed only one base runner to reach second base.
After striking out the first two batters to start the seventh, Carpenter hit the next two batters and gave up a walk to load the bases to bring the potential winning run to the plate in Daniel Vitello. But Carpenter ended the game with strikeout to complete sweep.
Brown (1-1) suffered the loss as he went 6.2 innings, allowed eight hits, three runs, four walks and three strikeouts.
The two teams will wrap up the three-game weekend series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest at Henderson Field.
