MADISONVILLE, Tenn. -- The Covenant Scots baseball team faced off against the Hiwassee Tigers in a single, nine-inning game on Wednesday afternoon and the Scots came away with a 10-6 win for their second straight victory.
James Rollins collected five hits, including three doubles, and four RBIs to lead the Covenant (15-13) attack. Rollins also extended his hitting streak to 16 games in the process. The Scots produced 17 hits on the afternoon.
Hiwassee jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings of play. In the first inning, Josh Cassidy reached first base on an error which allowed BJ Kennedy to score from third base. Then in the second inning, Jerad Potter's single brought home Cody Armstrong to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
The Scots matched those runs with two of their own in the top of the third. Back-to-back doubles from Ben Chambers and Will Cleland plated a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.
After Hiwassee regained the lead in the bottom of the third with two runs, Covenant would score seven runs over the next four innings. Rollins and Sterling Witt each had RBI hits in the fourth, while the Scots took advantage of four Hiwassee errors to score three more times in the fifth to take a 7-4 lead.
Rollins capped the scoring in the ninth inning as his fifth hit of the day, a double, drove home Paul Phillips to make it 10-6.
Scots starting pitcher Keith Rice (3-0) was credited with the win. Rice pitched five innings with four strikeouts while only allowing two earned runs. Brooks Hale was given the save as he threw two no-hit innings to secure the win for Covenant. Hiwassee starting pitcher Chris Large was saddled with the loss after 6.2 innings pitched.
Chambers went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Chris Rollins ended 2-for-4 along with three runs. Both Cleland and Witt each went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI for the Scots. Potter, Kennedy, and Armstrong each had a pair of hits for Hiwassee.
The Scots head to AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday April 13 for game one of a three-game series against Emory University at 4 p.m. Games two and three will be played in Atlanta on Saturday.
