Bridgewater, big first inning propel Eagles to 9-2 victory at Wingate
WINGATE, N.C. — Senior pitcher Austin Bridgewater (Morristown, Tenn.) fired a complete-game four-hitter, and the Carson-Newman Eagles used a five-run first inning to cruise to a 9-2 victory at Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference baseball action on Friday night at Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field.
WINGATE, N.C. — Senior pitcher Austin Bridgewater (Morristown, Tenn.) fired a complete-game four-hitter, and the Carson-Newman Eagles used a five-run first inning to cruise to a 9-2 victory at Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference baseball action on Friday night at Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field.
Bridgewater surrendered just two runs and fanned seven batters in nine innings of work to improve to 3-5 on the season.
With the win, the Eagles are now 16-20 overall and 12-7 in the conference. Wingate drops to 23-16 overall and 10-9 in the conference.
C-N collected 10 hits on the night, as sophomore Lucas Mohon (Glasgow, Ky.) went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a RBI and two runs scored. Junior Troy Zawadzki (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added a pair of hits, including a home run, and two RBIs, while senior Evan Patterson (Knoxville, Tenn.) contributed a triple and two RBIs.
Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.) went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs to lead the Bulldogs.
Wingate starting hurler Chris Nelson (Greenville, N.C.) was tagged with the loss after allowing five earned runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings on the mound. Nelson (3-3) also had eight strikeouts on the night.
The Eagles got off to a hot start with a five-run outburst in the first. Lance Rorex (Chattanooga, Tenn.) reached on a Wingate error to lead off the frame and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Dalton (Rutledge, Tenn.) to give C-N a 1-0 lead. Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) contributed a RBI single in the inning, while Patterson delivered a two-run triple and then scored on a passed ball to give the Eagles a 5-0 advantage.
C-N added two its lead in the fourth, as Zawadzki smashed a solo home run to left field to give the Eagles a 6-0 cushion.
Bridgewater was dominant through the first four innings as he gave up just one hit.
A Zawadzki RBI single in the sixth gave C-N a 7-0 lead, and the Eagles added a pair of runs in the seventh on a run-scoring double by Mohon and a RBI single by Dalton to put the game away.
Yeung gave the Bulldogs their only runs of the night in the night with a two-run home run to right field.
The Eagles and Bulldogs will wrap up the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
