Dayton, TN- No matter what sport, no matter what location, and no matter what circumstance, whenever Covenant College squares off against Bryan College, pride and glory are always at stake. This past weekend's baseball games were no exception, as the Scots made the short trip to the former rival Lion's baseball diamond with a five game losing streak intact.
Looking to rebound from their recent lack of successful results, the Scots started Tyler Smith on the mound, while Tyson Latham started at pitcher for the host Lions. With the large crowds and high energy that fans and players have come to expect from the rivalry, the game began with the home side looking the more likely to claim game one. Up 2-0 through three innings, the Lions appeared to be a third of the way to victory until Tyler Smith and company stepped up to deny them a run for the rest of the game and tack on eight runs of their own to cruise to victory. "We needed to get back to playing like a team, and get back to winning after losing a few in a row," said Smith after the game, "Thankfully, the whole team stepped up and made some big defensive stops as well as some big hits to carry us through the nine." Smith contributed personally with 3 strikeouts, while the rest of his defensive crew made several big plays at times when Bryan appeared likely to score. The batting trio of Fisher, Furuto, and Oldham supplied the plays on offense, combining for seven hits, seven RBIs, and five runs.
Game two of Saturday's returning doubleheader saw Covenant field pitcher Andre Glover in hopes that he could claim the second game much like Smith did the first; by pitching the entire game. And Glover did not disappoint, throwing two strikeouts and supporting a defensive crew that once again gave a stellar team-effort to allow Bryan just seven hits and five runs compared to the Scot's fourteen hit, fourteen run slug-fest. It was Oldham who contributed largely on offense yet again, hitting a three run homer in the top of the fourth to put Covenant clear by six runs. It was a lead they would not relinquish, as the visiting Scots claimed game two, and the series bragging rights, by a score of 14-5. The game two victory also put the Scots at 9-8 on the season with the final game of Saturday's doubleheader left to play.
The final game, though, did not end exactly as the Scots had hoped. Rather than capping off a successful weekend with a third straight victory and series sweep, the Scots fell late to a six run rally as the Lions stormed back from a four run deficit in innings four through six. Despite pitching a whopping 9 strikeouts through five innings, Demarius Johnson surrendered two runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth before being replaced by Wes McDowell, who didn't stop the bleeding as Bryan blasted three more runs by him in the bottom of the sixth to take a narrow 6-5 lead. Covenant was then unable to respond in the top of the seventh, going on to lose game three by the 6-5 score.
Overall it was a successful weekend for the Scots, though, who are now 9-9 on the season with an upcoming 3:00 game against Berry College at home this Wednesday. The Scots previously lost to Berry by a score of 5-10 in their first game of the season.
