Tucker Allen, a redshirt freshman from Sparta, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to seal Motlow's 12-11 win over Cleveland State Friday afternoon in the first game of a three-game series at the Driver Baseball Complex.
Motlow (12-15, 4-8) dropped the final two games of the series 9-3 and 11-9 in 10 innings. The Bucks then hosted and beat Scoutz Post Grad 4-3, 11-1 in a doubleheader on Tuesday. Motlow is scheduled to travel to Harriman for a three-game series against TCCAA rival Roane State this weekend.
The Bucks jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opener against Cleveland thanks to a five-run second inning that featured two-run singles by both Irvin Hernandez and Gabe Sibert.
Tate Vanhooser hit solo home runs for Motlow in both the third and fourth innings. However, the Cougars scored four in the fourth and six more in the fifth to take a 10-7 lead heading into the sixth inning.
The Bucks tied the score with three runs in the fifth, keyed by a two-run double by Julius Scearce and an RBI by Sibert. Allen's game-winning homer drove in Kaleb Gupton, who had walked.
Griffin Meeker got the win in relief on the mound, pitching the final three innings and allowing eight hits and five runs. Nicholas Holbrook pitched the first four innings, giving up six runs with five strikeouts.
In Friday's second game, the Cougars scored five runs in the third inning to take a 6-2 lead that they never relinquished. Motlow collected only five hits, including a solo home run by Scearce and two runs batted in by Allen. Jake Gulley pitched two innings of one-hit relief of Aaron Osada, who started on the mound for Motlow.
Saturday's series finale featured five home runs as Cleveland State came from four runs down with five in the seventh and two more in the top of the 10th to win it in extra innings.
Motlow got two more home runs from Allen, who knocked in five runs, and collected 15 hits overall. Sibert had three hits and scored twice, Valdez had two hits with two runs, and Hernandez had two hits.
Meeker took the loss in relief of Ryder Morey, who pitched 6.1 innings and allowed seven runs with five strikeouts. Gulley allowed two runs in two innings and Meeker allowed two runs on four hits in the final 1.2 innings.
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Motlow State Community College competes on the Division I level in baseball, softball, women's soccer, men's basketball, and women's basketball. The Bucks are a member of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) and compete in Region 7 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
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Motlow State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, disability, age status as a protected veteran or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulations and by Tennessee Board of Regents policies with respect to employment, programs, and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Barbara Scales bscales@mscc.edu, 5002 Motlow College Blvd. Smyrna, TN 37167, 615-220-7976.
Sports Information
C. Scott Shasteen
931-247-5566
sshasteen@mscc.edu