Backed by more power offensively, the Covenant baseball team completed a three-game sweep of USA South foe Berea with two wins on Saturday. The Scots took game one 11-3 before earning a 15-3, run-rule victory in the finale.
Covenant (7-7, 5-1 USA South) picked up its first USA South series sweep since 2016 and the 5-1 start to conference play is the best in program history. Additionally, the Scots pounded out double-digit hit totals in both games on Saturday to extend that streak to seven games.
GAME ONE: Covenant 11, Berea 3
Five players recorded at least two hits, and a pair of four-run innings propelled Covenant to an 11-3 victory over Berea in the first game on Saturday.
Trenton Nobles, Joel Johnson, CJ Edmond, Donny Lewis and Daniel Johnson all had two hits apiece for Covenant as the Scots produced 13 in the contest.
The Johnson boys did most of the run damage as well as Daniel had four RBIs and Joel drove in two.
Edmond and Lewis had run-scoring singles in the first and Daniel Johnson capped the four-run inning with a two-run single giving the Scots a 4-0 lead. Covenant added a run in the second on a Joel Johnson sacrifice fly to go ahead 5-1.
The Scots then broke the game open in the fifth with four more runs to take a 9-1 lead. Tyler Moore had a sacrifice fly, while Daniel Johnson drove in two with a double and Christian Murray delivered a run-scoring single to put the Scots ahead by eight.
Joel Johnson added an RBI single in the eighth and Nobles capped the scoring with his sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Drew Bradley (1-2) collected his first win of the year as he tossed 5.2 innings and one earned run on eight hits. Adam Carver threw the final 3.1 innings to notch the save.
Michael Smither (0-3) got the loss for Berea after allowing six earned runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings.
GAME TWO: Covenant 15, Berea 3
Covenant finished the series doing what it had done from the start: hitting.
The Scots produced a season-high 15 runs on 18 hits and completed the three-game sweep with a 15-3 victory in seven innings over Berea.
Three five-run innings is what did all the damage for Covenant in the victory. The Scots started early with five runs in the top of the first as Joel Johnson had a two-run triple that was followed by a Moore RBI single, a Daniel Johnson sacrifice fly, and a Murray RBI single to make it 5-0.
In the fourth, Covenant had four straight RBI hits en route to another five-run inning. Moore smoked a single past the Berea shortstop that enabled two runs to cross and that was followed by RBI doubles from Devin Cerrato and Daniel Johnson. Jonah Carignan got in on the act with his RBI single to put the Scots ahead 10-3.
Another five-run inning ensued in the fifth. Lewis had an RBI single, while Carignan and Murray each had RBI doubles in the frame as Covenant took a 15-3 lead.
Tristen Green made the start for the Scots and went the first two innings. Taylor Bloye (2-2) came out of the bullpen to throw the final five innings and struck out nine, while allowing just two hits.
Moore and Caleb Bloye each had three hits in the victory and Moore also recorded three RBIs. Daniel Johnson finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, while Joel Johnson, Cerrato, Carignan, and Murray had two hits each.
Berea starter Josh Wilson (1-2) lasted just two innings in his start and picked up the loss.
Covenant will travel to face NCAA Division II foe Carson-Newman on Tuesday. First pitch in Jefferson, City, Tenn., is set for 2 p.m.