William Carey opened its home slate in explosive fashion—rolling past Columbia International with a 14-run outburst before three Crusader pitchers teamed up for a no-hitter against Campbellsville to finish off a commanding doubleheader sweep.
Despite a steady early push from the CIU Rams, William Carey used timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to pull away for a 14–2 victory Friday evening.
CIU generated the first scoring threat in the opening inning when Eli Musgraves singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a passed ball. However, the Rams were unable to bring him home. William Carey capitalized instead, using a throwing error that put leadoff hitter
Tyler Ducksworth aboard. Ducksworth eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from
Gage Hinnant to give the Crusaders a 1–0 lead after one.
Following a quiet second inning, the Crusaders broke the game open in the third. With runners on the corners, Hinnant lined an RBI single to left, and moments later,
DeeJay Booth ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to extend the advantage to 4–0.
CIU briefly halted the momentum in the fourth when Corbin Wright singled and later scored on a base hit from Jennings Greene, trimming the deficit to 4–1. But the Crusaders answered with force in the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back extra-base hits from Clayton Williams and
Nic Arender drove in two more runs, and Arender later crossed the plate on a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 7–1.
The Crusaders continued to apply pressure, erupting for four additional runs in the fifth. Arender delivered another two-run double,
Cam Senior added a sacrifice fly, and
Taylor Walters scored to make it 11–1. CIU's highlight came in the sixth when Musgraves launched a solo home run to left, cutting the margin to 11–2.
William Carey responded quickly once again. Ducksworth doubled to open the bottom half of the sixth, setting the stage for consecutive hits from Hinnant, Booth, and
Jayden Mark—whose RBI double capped the scoring and secured the 14–2 final.
The Crusaders' offense was fueled by multiple standout performances, including Arender's four RBIs, Booth's three-RBI output, and Hinnant's multi-hit, multi-RBI night.
In their second game of the evening, the Crusaders manufactured runs steadily through the first five innings while their pitching staff kept Campbellsville off balance all night, securing a 6–0 shutout.
Campbellsville briefly threatened in the top of the first with a walk and a wild pitch, but starter
Everett Thompson regrouped and stranded both runners with his second strikeout of the inning.
Carey struck early again in the bottom half. Ducksworth singled to right to start the frame, and after two more baserunners reached, the Crusaders drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks from Walters and Arender to take a 2–0 lead. A double play ended the inning, but the early damage was enough to establish control.
The Crusaders extended the lead in the second. After a leadoff walk to Senior and runners advancing into scoring position, Hinnant delivered an RBI single to center. Booth followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Ducksworth, giving Carey a 4–0 cushion.
Campbellsville struggled to build any offensive momentum, reaching base only sporadically. Their best early opportunity came in the second, but a caught-stealing ended the frame before a rally could materialize.
William Carey added its final surge in the fifth. Catcher
Jayden Mark led off with a double, chasing the Campbellsville starter, and Arender immediately cashed in with a run-scoring single. Moments later,
Hays Carley drove an RBI double into the right-center gap and advanced to third as another run scored on a throwing error. By inning's end, the Crusaders held a commanding 6–0 lead.
From there, the bullpen took over. Relievers
Jackson Hawsey and
Jimmie Johnson combined to retire the final nine Tiger batters in order, sealing the shutout and completing a combined no-hitter.
Carey is back in action tomorrow as they take on Campbellsville at 2:30 pm at Milton Wheeler Field.
