Covenant defeats Vikings

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Covenant College finally got a baseball win over Berry College.

With their top four batters combining for nine hits and seven runs, the Scots downed the Vikings 10-4 Tuesday at Rome, Ga.

Harrison Fisher was 3-for-5 with four stolen bases and three runs, and Taylor Oldham, Luke Furuto and James Rollins each was 2-for-5 for Covenant (13-6), which had 15 hits in all. Rollins scored twice.

Corey Pitts was 3-for-4 with two runs for Berry (12-10), and Cason Drennan was 2-for-4.

"We played them a lot of close games, but that's the first time we've come out on top against them in my five years at Covenant," Scots coach Doug Simons said. "So we're pretty excited."

Sterling Witt was the winning pitcher, allowing six hits, two walks and two runs in six innings.

The Scots took a 5-0 lead and then made it 6-1 and 7-2. Berry got within three runs with help from two Covenant throwing errors in the seventh inning, but the Scots maintained control.

Also in Georgia, Emmanuel defeated Tennessee Temple twice in six innings by 13-3 scores. That lifted the Lions to 18-15.

n Lee 12-10, Reinhardt 3-0: At Cleveland, the NAIA's No. 2-ranked team improved to 26-6 with the doubleheader sweep, and Jay Bolen and James Rechenbach improved their pitching records to 6-0 and 5-0. The three runs off Bolen were unearned. Michael Brown was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored in the first game for the Flames, when Jonathan Clark also scored three runs, Max Harvell also was 2-for-3 and Chris Grayson and Justin Marrero added two RBIs each, Grayson with a triple.

Roberto Reyes was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs in game two, when Harvell was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Clark scored twice and Logan Bowers, Grayson and Joe Ramirez each had two hits.

n Cleveland State 6-11, Tennessee Wesleyan JV 0-2: At Cleveland, Gray Hutchinson went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored and Cody Commons and Austin Townes each drove in two in the first win for the Cougars (17-12). Hunter Hammond (2-2) allowed two hits and struck out five in five innings, and Landon Snyder allowed one hit in two innings. Cody Atkins was 2-for-2 for Wesleyan.

Grant Zawadzki tripled, doubled, singled and scored three runs in the second game, when Oakley Fox was the winning pitcher and Matt West, Colin Sullivan and Townes had two-run hits. Townes' was a homer.