Eagles Upended By Cougars

BRISTOL, Tenn. – A late rally was not enough for the Eagles as they were upset by the fourth seeded Cougars from Mid-Continent University 7-6 on Wednesday.  Asbury will have to win two games on Thursday to reach Friday’s championship game.  Asbury will play the loser of today’s Bluefield-King game at 10:00 am on Thursday, if they win they will play the winner of Bluefield-King on Thursday at 4:00 pm. 

Asbury (33-17-2) ran into trouble from the beginning, helping the Cougars (25-30) by have a base runner thrown out at second and then getting another picked off.  MCU jumped on KIAC Pitcher of the Year Gardner Adams in the fourth, knocking Adams out after only 3.1 innings.  He allowed six hits and six runs overall, three hits and five runs coming in the fourth.  Anthony Palmer allowed two inherited runners to score on two hits but didn’t allow another base runner in his 1.2 innings.  Brad Williams pitched the final two innings allowing two hits and a run.

The Eagles made a rally in the sixth, putting up five runs to cut the lead to 7-6.  With one out and runners on second and third the Eagles couldn’t get down a suicide squeeze as Brandon Smith was thrown out at home.  Evan Thomsen would strike out to end the threat. 

In that sixth inning Asbury piled up six of their 10 hits as Casey Messner and Cody Christopher each delivered two run hits. 

MCU scored first in the game, getting a single run in the second on Daniel Edwards single down the right field line.  The difference maker came in the top of the sixth as Sam Cheng singled with two outs to score Trevor Buford.