LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Strong pitching from starters Micah Mabe and Garrett Kriston propelled the Covenant baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Ohio Christian on Saturday afternoon.
Covenant took game one 6-1 behind Mabe's impressive outing. Kriston twirled a gem of his own in game two as the Scots shutout the Trailblazers 5-0 to earn the sweep.
Covenant moves to 10-3 on the season, while Ohio Christian drops to 3-6 overall.
Game One: Covenant 6, Ohio Christian 1
Mabe allowed two hits and one unearned run while striking out 10 as Covenant earned a 6-1 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
The left-hander Mabe retired the first 10 batters he faced until a walk in the fourth inning stopped that streak. Ohio Christian broke up the potential no-hitter with a clean single to center field from Cory Haner in the fifth inning. The Trailblazers scored a run in the fifth on a Ryan McCauley run-scoring single.
Still, Mabe faced just five batters over the minimum and threw 97 pitches, 61 for strikes, for the seven inning complete game win. Mabe remains perfect on the season at 4-0.
Covenant struck for two runs in the bottom of the first as Sterling Witt laced a two-out double to center field that scored both David Lockwood and Scott Gillespie.
The Scots added three more runs in the fifth inning with RBI singles from Will Cleland and Lockwood after a Ohio Christian throwing error allowed Paul Phillips to score. Perry Rigby added one more insurance run in the sixth inning with a towering solo home run to left field, his second of the season, to give Covenant a 6-1 lead.
Lockwood and Witt each had two hits to pace Covenant's eight hit attack. Witt drove in two runs also.
Richie French is hit with the loss for Ohio Christian as he gave up two earned runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
Game Two: Covenant 5, Ohio Christian 0
Another dominating pitching performance was in store in game two of the doubleheader. Kriston went all seven innings and surrendered just one hit as Covenant claimed a 5-0 win.
Much like Mabe in the first game, Kriston also retired the first 10 men he faced before a walk broke the streak. After the base on balls, Kriston allowed a seeing-eye single up the middle for the only hit. The right-hander retired the next two batters to end the Ohio Christian threat.
Kriston's (2-0) line was equally as impressive as Mabe's. Kriston went all seven innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out nine and facing 23 batters, two over the minimum. The freshman was also efficient as he tossed 75 pitches with 51 for strikes.
Again, Covenant plated two runs in the first inning to grab an early 2-0 lead. K.C. Simons led off with a double and scored on a Lockwood single to center field. Lockwood then stole both second and third and scored on a Witt double to center field.
Covenant scored a single run in the third inning on a passed ball that allowed Gillespie to come across home. The Scots capped the scoring in the sixth inning with a pair of runs, one coming on an Ohio Christian fielding error and the other on a Phillips RBI ground out, to make it 5-0.
Lockwood added two more hits with an RBI in game two to lead the Scots. Witt and Phillips each had an RBI as well.
Ohio Christian's Nathan Wheeler gets the loss as he allwoed three earned runs in six innings of work. Ryan Black was the lone Trailblazer with a hit.
Covenant is back in action on Tuesday afternoon when they host Piedmont at 3 p.m. on Lookout Mountain.
