Saints fall to Carson-Newman

DAHLONEGA - North Georgia scored a pair of runs in the fifth and seventh before leaving the bases loaded in the ninth and falling 5-4 at the hands of Carson-Newman Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action.

Carson-Newman (19-9, 8-4 SAC) took the early lead in the third inning on just one hit and the benefit of an error as Wesley Dozier drove in the run with a groundout to shortstop to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Mills Rogers followed in the fourth with a groundout of his own to bring Derek Long to the plate and give Carson-Newman a 2-0 lead.

North Georgia rallied in the fifth for a pair of two-out runs to tie the game at 2-2. Hits by Logan Sharrett and Rob Flanigan accompanied by two errors from the Eagles' defense locked the score at two.

Carson Newman would come right back in the sixth and grab the lead again on three hits and two more errors by the Saints. Jason Gray and Jonathan McMahon each notched RBI's as the Eagles put a three spot on the board to lead 5-2.

The North Georgia seventh saw the Saints rally from behind once again as Josh Tate brought Sharrett trotting home on a bases-loaded walk and Daniel Petitti added to his RBI total, sending a single into left field to send Craig Brisson to the plate and bring the Saints to within a run at 5-4. A double-play ended the ending however and set up a showdown in the ninth as the Saints found themselves down a run and Anders Oster stepping to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. A groundout to second ended the threat and gave Carson-Newman a 5-4 win to split the two-game series.

North Georgia will look to get over .500 in PBC play over the weekend, hosting GCSU for a three-game series with a single game set for Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and a double header on tap Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.