GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Evan Cage recorded two doubles and three RBI on the afternoon as Tusculum split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader with Carson-Newman Saturday at Eastman Credit Union Field.
Tusculum rallied from behind twice and scored four runs in their final two at-bats as the Pioneers won the first game 9-6. In the night-cap, 2025 SAC and Region Pitcher of the Year Kolton Casson tossed an eight-hit shutout as the Eagles rebounded with a 7-0 victory.
Carson-Newman (16-12, 8-10 SAC) takes the weekend series 2-1 and have won three of the four meetings with Tusculum (10-19, 5-13 SAC) this season. The two teams will meet again in April in a mid-week non-conference affair in Jefferson City.
Game 1: Tusculum 9, Carson-Newman 6
Tusculum used a three-run inning in the seventh to overcome a late deficit in a 9-6 win over Carson-Newman.
The Tusculum bullpen blanked the Eagles over the final three innings including game-winner Luke Maicon (1-1) who tossed 1.2 shutout innings, while TU closer Cooper Emery worked around a one-out single in the ninth to post his third save of the year.
Trailing 6-5 in the seventh, Landon Dockery led off with a walk. He moved to second when Evan Goins reached first on a C-N error on his bunt. After strikeout, Caden Rector drew a walk to load the bases. Dockery scored from third on a passed ball and Kolby Watson followed with a RBI single to right which drove in Goins. Rector, who tried to score from second base was thrown out at the plate. But Cage would tack on another run when he drove in Watson on his second double of the contest as TU led 8-6.
Tusculum added an insurance run in the eighth when Mason Johnson led off with a double and later scored on a Carson-Newman throwing error to provide the final margin of victory.
The Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, before TU tied the game in the second on Jack Gagen's RBI single up the middle.
Carson-Newman retook the lead in the third when Maddox Greene reached got aboard with a one-out single and scored from third on Logan Floyd's double off the wall in right. Bradley Soto Diaz followed with a RBI single to plate Floyd as C-N went up 3-2.
Tusculum answered in the fourth inning as Rector walked and moved to third on Watson's double off the wall in the right field corner. Cage notched his first double of the game to drive in a pair to tie the game at 3-3. After Gagen was hit by a pitch, Johnson doubled to left to bring Cage home with the go-ahead run.
The Pioneers added another run in the fifth, before the Eagles scored three times in the sixth thanks to a pair of hits and two TU errors as C-N led again, 6-5.
Tusculum finished the game with nine hits and drew five walks. Cage, Watson and Johnson accounted for two hits apiece as the Pioneers snapped a six-game losing streak and halted C-N's six-game winning streak.
Carson-Newman recorded 10 hits as the trio of Diaz, Braxton Smith and Carson Cochran had two hits apiece.
Game 2: Carson-Newman 7, Tusculum 0
Kolton Casson recorded his third complete game of the season and his first shutout of the year as Carson-Newman prevailed 7-0 in Saturday's second contest.
Casson (6-2) scattered eight hits and one walk and recorded three strikeouts in his 84-pitch effort.
He only retired the Pioneers in order once, but he managed the opposition by allowing seven singles and took advantage to two double plays to secure the win.
Carson-Newman played three runs each in the second and third frames and added another run in the sixth to account for its offense.
C-N posted 12 hits against six Tusculum pitchers. Jacob Rogers led the hit parade with his 3-for-4 performance while Diaz, Cole Nathan, Sebastian Rodriguez and Braxton Smith had two hits each.
Of Tusculum's eight hits, Dockery went 2-for-4 while Goins added his sixth double of the year.
The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday when they host Lee University for a 6 p.m. contest at Eastman Credit Union Field.
