3/9/15
The Truett-McConnell Bears took two of three in the season’s first conference series versus Bluefield. The Bears won the first game of the series 6-1 before splitting Saturday’s doubleheader with the Rams. On Saturday, TMC was the 3-2 victor in game one, while the Rams went on to win the final game 7-2. The recent wins give the Bears an overall record of 11-8, along with a 2-1 start in Appalachian Athletic Conference play.
Bluefield fell to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the league after winning their previous two contests versus NCAA Division II Southern Wesleyan University and Toccoa Falls College. Sophomore starting pitcher Luke Henderson led the way for Truett-McConnell on Friday with an outstanding effort on the mound. The left-hander threw a complete game over nine innings to win his fourth game of the season. Now 4-1 on the mound, Henderson kept the Rams scoreless over the final eight innings while the TMC offense posted single runs in the third and fourth innings before erupting for four runs in the sixth.
For Truett, Michael Long went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Peyton Fore went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI, and Andrew Fogarty and Walker Caves each collected a pair of hits. Chris Carden earned the victory in Saturday’s game one. The sophomore right-hander went six innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out four. Junior Chris Stevens threw a solid inning of relief to seal the 3-2 win for the Bears. Offensively, Tate Gaines went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run batted. Carden delivered a two-out RBI in the game to help his cause on the mound, and Andrew Fogarty also had a RBI for the Bears.
In the final game of the series, the Rams’ offense collected 12 hits to score seven runs en route to the 7-2 decision. Peyton Fore and Casey Guilliams each had two hits for the Bears, but Bluefield’s pitching kept the Bears’ hitters at bay throughout the game. The Bears will take on Milligan College in AAC action next weekend.
