GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tusculum Pioneers drew three walks in the bottom of the 11th including the game-winner by Luis Reyes as TU won the 11-10 marathon over Anderson University Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park.
The Pioneers (8-17, 3-9 SAC) capture the weekend series finale while totaling a season-high 19 hits including three-hit performances by Max Schmarder, Caleb Webster and Landon Dockery.
Anderson (16-10, 6-6 SAC) finished the day with 17 hits including Braeden Harrison’s 4-for-6 performance where he scored four times. Brooks Mauro went 3-for-6, while Kyle Caccamise, Gray Wells, Zack Stover and Shane Thomas had two hits apiece.
In a game that went back-and-forth dramatically, the contest featured five lead changes and three ties.
Trailing 3-2 heading going into the sixth inning, Tusculum erupted for eight runs as 13 batters went to the plate including Schmarder who tallied two of his three hits during the frame.
But Anderson answered with 11 hitters batting in the seventh as the Trojans plated five runs to make it a 10-8 contest. AU knotted the score at 10-10 in the top of the ninth with a pair of runs including Dom Bello’s two-out RBI single and Braeden Harrison scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
Tusculum dented the scoreboard first in the opening inning as Webster led off with his team-leading 12th double of the season. After a base hit by Ryan Ortega, Ty Smith stepped and lined a RBI single to left field for a 1-0 lead. AU starter Walker Case retired the next three batters including a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.
The Trojans tied the game at 1-1 with an unearned run in the top of the third inning as Anderson used a pair of two-out singles and a Tusculum throwing error.
Anderson took its first lead of the day when Mauro led off with an infield single and later scored on Stover’s sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1.
Tusculum tied the fray at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth as Dockery doubled down the left field line and later scored on Ortega’s RBI single.
Anderson retook the lead in the top of the fifth with reliever Payne Ladd on the mound. With one out, Harrison hit a solo shot that stayed just inside the left field foul pole for his fourth home run of the season and a 3-2 Anderson lead.
But the in the bottom of the sixth inning, Schmarder got things started as he tied the game with one swing of the bat with his third home run of the year. Dockery and Webster were hit by pitch and Ortega reached on a bunt single. But on the play, the throw to first sailed high and down the base line which score Dockery from second base and moving Webster to third. Smith grounded out which allowed Webster to score to make it a 5-3 game. Ben Scartz singled up the middle to bring home the fourth run of the inning as TU expanded the lead to 6-3. After an infield pop-up for the second out, Carreras singled as the Pioneers had two runners aboard. Millsaps singled to load the bases and bring up Schmarder for his second at-bat of the frame. Schmarder hit a chopper to the right side that took a Tusculum hop over the second baseman’s head to drive in two more runs as TU led 8-3. Docker and Webster followed with back-to-back RBI singles to cap the scoring as Tusculum led 10-3.
In the top of the seventh, the Trojans battled back and trimmed the deficit down to two at 10-8 with a five-run outburst. AU pounded out five hits in the inning including Well’s two-run double and a two-run single off the bat of Mauro. The first six batters reached base before reliever Scout Martin took over and limited the damage.
Meanwhile, AU reliever Jacob Ingram faced the minimum batters in the seventh and eighth innings.
In the top of the ninth, Shane Thomas lifted fly ball to shallow right field as outfielder Ty Smith made a valiant try on the ball but caromed off his chest. Thomas was able to trot into second with a lead-off double. TU reliever Cooper Emery took over on the mound and got a fly out, but Harrison reached on an infield single as Thomas stayed at second base. Schmarder made a tough catch in foul territory for the second out. With Bello at the plate and down to his final strike, he would lift a single to right field which allowed Thomas to score and move Harrison to third base. Trailing 10-9, Harrison would score the tying run on a wild pitch. Mauro and Wells would draw back-to-back walks to load the bases. Freshman reliever Ayden Moore took over for the Pioneers and got Stover to ground out on a bang-bang play at first for the final out and send the game to extra-innings for a second straight game.
In the 10th, both teams got runners into scoring position but would leave them stranded there.
Moore continued his stellar outing as he retired the Trojans in order in the top of the 11th.
In the bottom of the frame, after reliever Corben Childers got the first out of the inning, he ran into control problems as Dockery drew a walk and Webster singled. Both runners would move up a base to put runners at second and third. Ortega was intentionally walked, bringing up Reyes for his first at-bat of the contest. He would get the count full at 3-and-2 before drawing the walk for the game-winner.
Moore pitched the final 2.1 innings where he allowed one hit and posted strikeouts and record his first collegiate victory. Childers, who was the winner in Friday’s second game, was the loser on Saturday as he went 2.1 innings, allowed one run on two hits, one strikeout and four walks.
Tusculum starting pitcher, posted his second quality outing of the week. He went 4.0 innings, allowed five hits, two runs, one earned, zero walks and one strikeout in his 55-pitch effort. Last Tuesday, he was the winning pitcher in TU’s win over King University.
Schmarder and Webster both extended their respective hitting streaks to 16 consecutive games. Schmarder also extended his streak to 21 games in row in reach base safely. It is the 14th longest streak in program history. Millsaps’ single in the sixth extended his on-base streak to 17 straight games, while Webster sits at 16 in a row, and Scartz has reached base in his last dozen outings.
Tusculum returns to action with a pair of mid-week, non-conference games against arch-rival Carson-Newman. The Pioneers will travel to Jefferson City for a 3 p.m. contest on Tuesday before returning home to host the nationally-ranked Eagles on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
