LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant baseball team completed its first three-game sweep of the season with two wins over Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon on Lookout Mountain. The Scots took game one, 7-1, before completing the sweep with an 8-5 victory in the finale.
Covenant moves to 5-1 on the year, while Emory & Henry drops to 1-5. The Scots are 19-1 all-time against Emory & Henry.
The Scots hit three home runs between the two games, including an inside-the-park homer from John Mitchell. CJ Edmond and Alex Gonzalez both homered in the game one victory.
GAME ONE: Covenant 7, Emory & Henry 1
Gonzalez and Mitchell drove in two runs each and Andrew Cline had another strong start to lead Covenant to a 7-1 victory in Saturday's first game.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Covenant answered with two runs in its half of the opening frame. With the bases loaded and two away, Mitchell delivered a two-run single, plating Tyler Moore and Edmond, to give the Scots a 2-1 lead.
That would ultimately be all the runs Cline needed. The right-hander went six innings and allowed one run on nine hits with seven strikeouts to collect his second win of the year. Tyrique Wilmore came on in the seventh to seal the win with a perfect inning.
Edmond hit a solo home run to left-center field in the third inning, his first of the year, to give Covenant a 3-1 lead. Gonzalez smashed a two-run shot in the fifth, also his first of the year, to make it 5-1. The Scots tacked on two more runs in the sixth as Moore produced a sacrifice fly before Hunter Christian scored on a wild pitch.
Edmond and Gonzalez were each 2-for-3, while Edmond scored three times.
Emory & Henry starter Noah Griffin (0-1) picked up the loss as he went 4.1 innings allowing five runs. Ross French had three hits and Ben Sexton added two as the visiting Wasps out-hit Covenant 9-7.
GAME TWO: Covenant 8, Emory & Henry 5
In game two, five different Covenant players recorded two hits and Tommy Easley drove in three as Covenant completed the sweep with an 8-5 win.
Donny Lewis, Edmond, Mitchell, Easley, and Brooks DuBose all had two hits in the victory.
A five-run third inning was the difference for Covenant. Down 2-0, the Scots sent nine batters to the plate in the third inning and scored five runs on four hits. All the runs came with two outs as Easley drove in three with a single to right-center field, followed by an Emory & Henry error that allowed two more runs to cross.
In the sixth, Covenant scored three more times. Gonzalez doubled home Edmond with two away and Mitchell followed with a two-run, inside-the-park homer. Mitchell drove a pitch into the left-center field gap and a diving attempt by the Emory & Henry outfielder was not enough as the ball squirted away on the wet turf and Mitchell rounded the bases and scored without a throw. The homer was Mitchell's first of the year.
Jackson Heuer (2-0) got the win after he started and went 4.1 innings and allowed three runs. Adam Carver threw 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Emory & Henry's Tyler Muncy (0-1) got the loss after going three innings. Joe Tolone went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run to lead the Wasps as the visitors collected 14 hits.
UP NEXT
Covenant opens USA South play on Friday, Feb. 22 against Maryville. Game one of the three-game series is set for a 2 p.m. start.
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