LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant Scots baseball team improved to a 6-1 record Saturday, defeating Toccoa Falls College 3-1 and 4-2. The team is now 6-0 at home and boasts the best start to a season since its revival in 2006. The Scots pitching staff managed to hold the visiting Eagles- winners of the 2009 NCCAA national championship- to just three runs on the day.
Game one featured Jonathan Hodges on the mound for the Eagles, while for the Scots, Tyler Smith had the honors. In the top of the first, Smith had a quick three up, three down inning, getting one strike-out. Hodges answered in the bottom half. With one out, Harrison Fisher doubled to left, but was stranded after the next two hitters were set down.
In the second inning, both teams played small ball to manufacture runs. The Eagles led off with a single. The next batter sacrificed him over to second. Smith then lost it briefly and hit a batter before walking the next to load the bases. But he controlled the damage, getting Chris Sheridan to ground out to Taylor Oldham, which scored one. The next batter grounded out to Kurtis Wiles at second base.
Down a run, Covenant answered in the second. James Rollins reached on an error, advancing to second on the play. He subsequently stole third base, setting the tone for an RBI ground out to shortstop from Jared Carlson.
In the top of the third, fourth, and fifth, Smith found his groove and had three quick innings on the mound. In five innings of work, he struck out five, giving up just one run and two hits while picking up his third win of the year to improve to 3-0.
Covenant added runs in the third. With one out, Fisher and Oldham walked, and Luke Furuto was hit in the back by the pitch. Rollins came up with the bases loaded and crushed a ball to left field that was knocked down by the wind and caught on the warning track. Fisher was able to score on the play and the Scots went up 2-1. With two outs, Jonathan Carter- who leads the team in average and is dominating at the plate- stepped up big with an RBI single to left. Covenant now led, 3-1.
Covenant, now with the lead, brought in Brian Simons to pitch. Simons got a quick out to start the inning, but the Eagles weren't going down without a fight. A double, single, and hit batter led to the Eagles having base loaded with two outs. But Simons was up for the challenge and got Corey Warner to ground out to Rollins to end the inning.
The top of the seventh went more smoothly. Simons got two quick outs, then gave up a two out double. But Tyler Sellers was unable to cash in and flew out to end the game. Covenant improved to 5-1 on the year.
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Demarius Johnson started game two and picked up directly where he left off in his last outing, getting two strike-outs in the top of the first along with a three up, three down inning.
Neither team scored in the first three innings. Johnson continued mowing down opponents via the strike-out, but the Covenant bats just couldn't break through against Charles Dillon, who was pitching for the Eagles.
The Eagles finally broke the shutout in the fourth. With one out, they got back to back hits, putting runners at second and third. Andrew Thorne then hit a sac fly scoring a run. Sheridan then stepped up big and got an RBI single. Covenant now trailed 2-0.
The Scots, as they have done all year when down, responded. Oldham led off with a dose of small ball, getting a bunt single down the third base line. Furuto then singled to left on a ground ball. With no outs, Rollins advanced both runners a base with a sacrifice bunt. Carter got a ground out to short which scored Oldham, and Carlson came in and ripped a single that scored Furuto.
With the game now tied, Coach Doug Simons turned the ball over to Andre Glover to pitch. Glover, having yet to give up a run on the year, continued to stifle opposing hitters. The first two batters he faced struck out, and the next one ground out.
Covenant scored one run apiece in the sixth and seventh. One of these came on an Oldham double that scored Wiles. The second was scored on a balk by the Eagles pitcher.
In the top of the ninth, Glover set down any chances of a comeback from the Eagles, getting a one, two, three inning on three ground outs to the infield. Covenant improved to 6-1.
Smith took the win in the first game, while Glover got it in the second game. Glover is 3-0 on the year, and has yet to give up any earned runs. He is holding opposing hitters to a .091 batting average. Smith also improved to 3-0.
Johnson added seven more strike-outs to his plethora of punch-outs on the year.
Rollins added an RBI to tie Furuto with the team lead at seven. Oldham and Fisher each added to their stolen base total, to stay tied at four each.
Covenant's next game is at home against Oglethorpe at 2:00pm on Tuesday, March 1.
