Box Score

The Truett-McConnell Bears (5-5 overall) traveled to Toccoa Falls College on Friday and came home with a 10-7 road victory. On Saturday, the two teams met in Cleveland, Georgia to complete the weekend series. The Bears won the first game of the doubleheader 14-4 before falling short in a pitcher's duel that ended in a 2-1 loss for the Bears in game two. 

Luke Henderson and Chris Stevens combined on the mound for Truett-McConnell in Friday's 10-7 victory at Toccoa Falls. Stevens escaped a ninth inning jam when the Eagles had the bases loaded with no one out. With the bases full, Stevens induced a ground ball out to shortstop Trent Little who threw the runner out at home for the first out of the inning. The next batter struck out looking, and the following hitter popped out to Little in the infield for the final out of the inning. 

TMC responded with four runs in the top of the tenth inning to clench the win. Tate Gaines led off the inning with a single to left-center. Andrew Fogarty followed with a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled by the pitcher allowing both Gaines and Fogarty to advance safely. Noah O'Neal pinch ran for Gaines at second. Then, Toccoa Falls' pitcher balked to move O'Neal to third and Fogarty to second. McClane Ramey walked and was replaced on the bases by Jared Oliver. With the bases loaded, Michael Long delivered a two-run single to centerfield that allowed Oliver to advance to third. The Bears added another run when Peyton Fore singled through the right side to score Oliver to give the Bears a 9-6 lead. Chris Carden singled through the left side of the field to score Trent Little for TMC's final run of the inning.

Carrying a 10-6 lead into the bottom half of the tenth inning, Stevens (2-1) was able to limit the Eagles to just one run before recording the final out via a ground ball to Peyton Fore at second base to secure the win. 

Offensively, Chris Carden led the Bears with a 3-for-6 effort including three RBI's. Trent Little, Peyton Fore, and Andrew Fogarty belted out two hits each.

In Saturday's game one, the Bears exploded offensively in the bottom of the sixth inning to score ten runs and cap off a 14-4 home victory. Peyton Fore, Chris Carden, Chris Stevens, Sean Cheshire, Andrew Fogarty, and Casey Guilliams each recorded multiple hits for the Bears. 

Cody Gable relieved starting pitcher Chris Carden with one out remaining in the fifth inning and the score then tied at 4-4. Carden took the no-luck no decision after 5.2 innings of work, before Gable (1-0) held off the Eagles with a 1-2-3 final inning to earn his first win of the season. 

In the final game of the weekend, Truett-McConnell was unable to top the Eagles who would go on to steal the win by a 2-1 score. TMC starting pitcher Jared Oliver sliced through the Eagle lineup through the first four innings as he struck out six of his first twelve batters faced without surrendering a hit. 

However, in the top of the fourth inning, Oliver gave up a bloop single into shallow right field before a walk to the next batter led to a sac bunt to put runners on second and third with no outs. Toccoa Falls' Eric Lusk put down a squeeze bunt to push across the first run of the game giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. With runners on first and third base, a defensive error by the Bears on a stolen base attempt allowed the runner from third to score and give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. Wyatt Holloway relieved Oliver in the top of the seventh inning and recorded three outs without giving up a run.

Truett-McConnell had been held scoreless until the seventh inning when Walker Caves hit a sacrifice fly to left field scoring Noah O'Neal from third. TFC escaped allowing one run en route to the 2-1 victory. 

Oliver (1-2) pitched well for the Bears as he surrendered just three hits over six innings while striking out 11 and walking four. 

Truett-McConnell will face nationally ranked Georgia Gwinnett College next on Tuesday in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The Grizzlies are listed sixth in the NAIA's preseason top 25 poll. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.