Baseball | 2/8/2020 6:05:00 PM

Box Score     JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Unbeaten Carson-Newman spoiled West Liberty University's baseball season opener here Saturday with a 3-0 shutout win in a scheduled 9-inning game at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
    It was a frustrating setback for Coach Eric Burkle's debuting Hilltoppers as his two hurlers, Luke Nees and Tyler Blomquist, combined to hold the host Eagles (5-0) to just two hits on the afternoon.
    Carson-Newman scored the only runs of the game in the third inning. A one-out single followed by three hit batters and a walk forced in the first two runs and a sacrifice fly completed the three-run "rally."
    Nees and Blomquist blanked the Eagles on one hit the rest of the way but the WLU offense couldn't battle back.
    The Hilltoppers were held to just three hits of their own as two Carson-Newman hurlers combined for 14 strikeouts while surrendering only three walks.
    West Liberty's only scoring chance came in the top of the fourth. After Colton Coss had worked a one-out walk, Tyler Ramsay ripped a double off the left field wall. Coss got the green light at third but a well-executed relay gunned him down at the plate. Jason Schutte beat out a pair of infield singles for WLU's other two hits.
    The Hilltoppers will try to get on the winning side of the scoreboard tomorrow when the teams return to Silver Diamond for a noon doubleheader.
  West Liberty                                         000 000 000 – 0  3  1
Carson-Newman                                 030 000 00x – 3  2  0
     WLU: Nees lp (2SO, 2W), Blomquist (6) (0SO, 2W) and Rine. Schutte 2S; Ramsay D
     CNU: Coe wp (9SO, 3W), Shaver (7) (5SO, 0W) and Caldwell. Wroth D