Lookout Mountain, GA- Tuesday's action saw the Covenant College men's baseball team return home to face UVA-Wise in a hotly-contested doubleheader. Coming off a resounding 10-3 victory over Tennessee Temple, the Scots, led by sophomore Tyler Smith on the mound, were looking to improve upon their 6-3 record by downing the visiting Cavaliers. Early on, though, it was the visitors who looked more likely to claim game one, with Brad Robbins smashing a two run home-run off a Smith pitch in the top of the first. After failing to respond in the bottom of the first inning, Covenant would reply in the second, though, as Jared Carlson cleared the fence for the team's first run. Then, after UVA-Wise failed to score a run for the second straight inning, Taylor Oldham knocked a three run homer out of the park to give Covenant a 4-2 lead with four of the seven innings left to play.
It was perhaps the pivotal play of the game, giving Covenant a lead which Tyler Smith and the rest of the defense would not surrender, and also giving Oldham and company some much needed momentum. Indeed, in his next at bat, Oldham repeated the feat, smashing a two run home run over left field to all but ensure victory for the Scots. In the fifth inning, Smith struck out one Cavalier and forced the other two to fly-out, while the offense scored three runs to implement the 10 run rule and give Covenant a 12-2 first game win and a 7-3 record on the year.
The second game began much like the first, with the Cavaliers starting strong by scoring 2 runs in the first inning off newly inserted Covenant pitcher Sterling Witt. Covenant's Jonathan Carter would score a run in the second inning, but it was as close as Covenant would come to pulling level in the second game, as UVA-Wise scored three runs in the same inning to pull away. Oldham would triple in the fifth to give the Scots their second run of the game, but it was too little too late as the Cavs pitching remained steady and the team claimed game two by a score of 7-2.
The loss moved Covenant to 7-4 on the year, but Coach Simons was pleased with the team's overall performance on the day. "It seems like every game someone new is producing for us. Our starting pitchers have been keeping us in games, and today Taylor Oldham gave us a real spark in the middle of the lineup. He was a tough out, and as witnessed by his two home runs in game one, Wise had trouble figuring him out."
The Scots will hope that Oldham and the rest of the lineup continue to produce as the team moves forward in the season. They next face Milligan College in a home contest at 3:00 P.M. this Friday.
