HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- Tusculum University reliever Gage Newsome pitched 3.2 shutout innings as the Pioneers salvaged a South Atlantic Conference split with Coker University, Saturday afternoon at Tom J. New Field.
Newsom retired 11 of the 12 batters he faced including 10 in a row to begin his relief outing as Tusculum prevailed 7-2 in Saturday's second game. In the opener, the Cobras used an 8-run third inning en route to a 13-9 victory.
Coker (12-20, 7-5 SAC) wins the weekend series over Tusculum (13-16, 4-11 SAC) two games to one and moves into a tie for fifth place in the league standings.
Game 1: Coker 13, Tusculum 9
Reilly Hall went 4-for-5 with three RBI including a two-run triple as the Cobras won 13-9. Coker finished the game with 11 hits as Hall came a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. He had two singles, a double and a triple.
The Cobras sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third including Tripp Kimmel's three-run double as Coker leaped out to an 11-2 lead. Kimmel would finish the game with two hits and four RBI.
The Cobras jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Cory Listing's two-run homer. Tusculum tied the game with a pair of runs in the second. TU loaded the bases with one out as Rudy Fernandez was hit by a pitch to drive in the first run. Ryan Dos Santos tied the game at 2-2 with his bases-loaded walk.
Coker retook the lead with a run in the second thanks to a pair of Tusculum errors and a Hall RBI single.
After the eight-run explosion in the third, Coker added single runs in the fourth and fifth inning to extend the lead to 13-3.
The Pioneers chipped away at the Coker lead, scoring four runs in the seventh inning. TU looked to be having another big inning in the eighth as Christian Ortega led off with a double and later scored. TU had runners at second and third with no outs. But a strikeout and a pair of fly outs prevented the big inning. TU loaded the bases in the ninth, but scored only one run as the Cobras won 13-9. Tusculum would strand 15 runners on base in the game.
Coker reliever Jonathan Ford (3-0) picked up the victory as he went 1.2 innings, allowed one hit, one run, one walk and three strikeouts. Tusculum starter Sam Loew (2-1) suffered the loss in his 2.2 innings of work.
TU finished the game with 13 hits including Luis Ezra's 3-for-5 performance, while Dos Santos and Connor Jurek had two hits apiece.
Game 2: Tusculum 7, Coker 2
The Pioneers overcame an early 2-1 deficit by scoring three runs each in the second and third innings en route to a 7-2 win in the series finale.
Tyler Ranel and Blaze McCauley accounted for two hits each, while Ezra connected on a two-run homer in the third.
Tusculum scored the first run of the game when Dos Santos led off with a walk and later scored on a one-out single by Ranel. The Cobras took the lead in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by Kody Hanna and Eli Hopkins.
The first three batters walked in the second for Tusculum and Wes Reynolds drove Kyle Williams from third base with his fielder's choice. After stealing second base, Reynolds along with Britten Robinson, both scored on Ortega's two-run single.
Ezra's two-run blast to the gap in left field made it a 7-2 ball game.
Now with a five-run lead, TU starter Tyler Harmon ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth as the Cobras loaded the bases with one out. Newsom entered the game for TU to face the top of the Coker order. Newsom got a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
Newsom would retire the next 10 batters in a row and didn't allow a base runner until the bottom of the seventh with two outs. He would end the game with a strikeout to improve his record to 2-0.
Tusculum returns to action on Tuesday as the Pioneers travel to Cleveland, Tennessee for a rematch with Lee University. TU defeated the Flames 11-5 this past Tuesday at Pioneer Park. This week's game is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
