CLEVELAND, Ga. (Feb. 8, 2019) – Sophomore Cason Brown tallied his third win while freshman Avery Hopper earned his second save of the season to lead the Truett McConnell University baseball to victory in game one of a nonconference series against Clarke University. The Bears won 3-2 to improve to an overall record of 3-3.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Two doubles allowed a run for Clarke in the top of the second inning (1-0) but the Bears rallied in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. After a leadoff walk, freshman Mason McLendon singled to right field for his first collegiate hit. A sacrifice bunt by freshman Will Ingram put runners on second and third with one out. Junior Josh Johnston followed with a laser up the middle to drive home Evan Bensch.  A perfectly placed bunt by senior Austin Bishop sent Shane Smith across home plate to put the Bears ahead by one (2-1).

Designated hitter Jackson Meadors singled to deep right-center to start off the sixth and freshman John Michael McRae followed suit with another single in the right-center gap. Bensch sacrifice bunted to move the runners over but it was senior Shane Smith's two-strike sacrifice squeeze that brought Meadors home for what would be the winning run (3-1).

Nick Hammonds came in to relieve Brown in the ninth and was able to record the first two outs. However, after two walks and a hit by pitch, Hopper came in to seal the deal. The freshman reliever walked one but struck out the final batter of the game to secure TMU's win over the Pride (3-2).

BROWN'S NUMBERS

Brown pitched eight remarkable innings giving up only one earned run on six hits while striking out five and walking one. This is Brown's third stellar start on the mound in a row. The sophomore now has 20 innings pitched on the year and has only given up one earned run. In addition, Brown has struck out 15 and only walked three.

LEADERS

Bishop and McRae each went 2-for-4.

UP NEXT

The Bears will face the Pride for games two and three on Saturday, Feb. 9, starting at 12:00 p.m.