LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- On a rainy afternoon, the Covenant Scots and the Berry Vikings faced off in a doubleheader. The Scots lost both games to Berry with the scores 12-2 in game one and 7-5 in game two.
The losses for Covenant drops its record to 16-17 on the season, while Berry moves to 18-19 on the year.
Covenant's James Rollins also saw his hitting streak come to an end in game two. The senior recorded a hit in 20 straight games, including a double in his last at-bat in game one, but went 0-for-4 in the second game. Rollins is still hitting a robust .473 on the year.
Game One
The Vikings took off in the first inning with a double by Zach Farmer that plated two runners as Berry took a 2-0 lead. The Scots responded in the second inning with a single run when Vikings starter Levi Austin balked home Scott Gillespie to make it 2-1.
But Berry scored two runs in the fourth, four more in the sixth, and two in the seventh inning to pull away from Covenant. In the sixth inning, back-to-back triples by Stephen Gaylor and Thomas Johnson, along with a sacrifice fly from Drew McDuffie, plated two runs for the visitors and pushed their lead out to 8-2. Covenant added a run in its half of the sixth when Rollins doubled home K.C. Simons that made it 10-2.
Berry starting pitcher Austin (3-4) was given the win. Austin pitched all seven innings and struck out seven batters in 91 pitches. Covenant starter Keith Rice (3-1) was saddled with the loss after five innings and allowing eight earned runs with only one strikeout.
Will Cleland went 2-for-3 while K.C. Simons went 1-for-2 with a run. James Rollins went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Gillespie also had a run for the Scots.
Game Two
After coming off a loss, the Scots fought hard but fell again to the Vikings 7-5. Berry started the scoring in the first inning with one run, but the Scots responded immediately with a run of their own. Berry scored another run in the second inning to pull ahead of the Scots 2-1.
The Vikings pulled further ahead of the Scots in the third inning after a double by T.C. Boyd that brought in a run. After advancing to third, Boyd reached home after a ground out to make the score 4-1.
The Scots scored again in the fourth inning after a single up the middle by Cleland plated Sterling Witt and Gillespie. Trailing 7-3 in the fifth inning, David Lockwood homered over the left field fence with K.C. Simons on second base. Lockwood's two-run home run, his fourth of the year, cut the Scots' deficit to 7-5 but that was as close as it would get.
Berry starting pitcher Mitchell Cohen (2-1) was given the win after going four innings and giving up five runs on five hits. Micah Mabe (1-4) for the Scots gets the loss. Mabe pitched three innings and allowed four runs with one strikeout.
K.C. Simons and Witt each went 1-for-2 with a single run each. Lockwood ended 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Rollins and Gillespie each had a run to add for the Scots.
The Scots play Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 for a three-game series against Tennessee Temple University. Game one will be played on Friday at 4 p.m.
