ATHENS, Tenn. -- 17 runs on 34 hits. 6 pitchers facing 122 batters. 5 doubles. 4 home-runs. 8 stolen bases. 19 runners left on base. And 13 innings were all characteristic of the epic battle fought between the Scots and the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs Monday night. The victory snaps Covenant's 7 game losing skid and boosts their overall win count to 15, equaling last year's total. Cody Baxter went 1 for 6 but his single to right in the top of the thirteenth was the difference in the game.
The Scots, with the help of the NCCAA's K/9 leader in Demarius Johnson, started out strong, building a 4-1 lead through the first 4 innings. Third baseman James Rollins provided the offense with two hits and two RBIs in his first two plate appearances, while Johnson provided the defense, striking out 2 to bring his strikeouts per nine average to just under 10.
In the fifth inning, Tennessee Wesleyan took a 6-4 lead with 5 runs (4 earned) on only 3 hits. A walk and an error helped set up junior Cody Gaskill's first homer of the day, a 3-run rip that he pulled down the left field line.
In the top of the sixth, a two out walk issued to Cody Baxter gave the Scots an opportunity to chip into the 2 run Wesleyan lead. Harrison Fisher and Kurtis Wiles took advantage of that opportunity with back to back hits, and the lead was cut to 6-5.
The Scots tied the game at 6 in the top of the seventh despite recording only one hit- Luke Furuto's lead-off double. The run, which was scored on Sterling Witt's sac bunt, proved to be especially important as the game went scoreless from the 8th to the 10th. During that apparent lull in action, Brian Simons, who was brought in to relieve Johnson, pitched out of a couple of jams.
The bottom of the eighth and the bottom of the tenth saw the Bulldogs get runners to second and third with two out, but Simons dug deep and found ways to end each inning unscathed.
"I didn't want to let the team down, they had been battling all day," quoted the freshman righty from Lookout Mountain. "I really didn't change my approach, but I definitely tried harder in those crucial situations."
Simons forced Max Loveland to pop up to center to end the eighth and Ryan Santos to pop to center to end the tenth. He pitched 7 innings (4 more than he had pitched in any one game this year) and gave up only 2 runs.
"Amazingly, not once did I feel tired, either mentally or physically. That was surprising because I haven't thrown seven innings since high school."
The Scots scored a run in the eleventh to gain a 7-6 advantage. A single and a pair of stolen bases from Taylor Oldham set up decision-making time for Tennessee Wesleyan. The Bulldogs chose to intentionally walk James Rollins with one out, and after his stolen base, they intentionally walked Jared Carlson to load the bases and bring the infield in. But it didn't matter where the infield was playing as junior left hander Matt McCracken walked in the go-ahead run.
Cody Gaskill, who had homered several innings earlier, led off the bottom of the eleventh with a double to left field and was eventually scored by Brad Pippa's base hit up the middle, extending the game even further.
Nothing notable happened in the twelfth, but the game's biggest excitement came in the thirteenth.
Jared Carlson reached on a one out walk. Ty McTier and Will Ogletree both singled, loading the bases. Then a passed ball by David Lindsay scored the first of Covenant's two 13th inning runs.
Baxter's aforementioned single to right field followed, and McTier scored from third, enabling the Scots to afford Gaskill's solo home run in the bottom of the inning.
"It was definitely a long and grueling game," continued Simons, "but the last out was relaxing. I knew I could ride peacefully on the van ride home."
Covenant is now 15-19 overall with 4 games left on their schedule: A single nine-inning game against UVA-Wise and a 3 game series against Virginia Intermont. The UVA-Wise game is slated for Wednesday at 4:00pm, and the Intermont series for Friday and Saturday. Friday's game against Virginia Intermont will be at Engel Stadium while the other three will be on Lookout Mountain.
