Midweek tune-up brings Wise to Mossy Creek
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In its final non-conference game before the start of league play, Carson-Newman is slated to host UVA Wise at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex looking to reach double-digit victories.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
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0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | X | 16 | 16 | 0 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In its final non-conference game before the start of league play, Carson-Newman is slated to host UVA Wise at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex looking to reach double-digit victories.
"This is a great league right now," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "What we have to do is keep doing what we are doing in our training. Like all coaches you have your notes. You don't want to harp on one thing because it becomes mental to them. We are still playing good baseball. There are certain things we will talk about with the situational part of the game. I feel like we are doing a good job. We have handled comebacks. We have held leads. We have come back being down. We have had a little bit of everything which is great."
The Eagles offensive attack has been relentless with the unit posting double-digit runs in six of the first seven innings overall this year. By comparison foes have scored double-figures runs in only one frame this year, 17 in the third with the Orange and Blue posting a plus-41 run differential buoyed by a 15-4 lead in the first inning.
Overall on the year C-N's pitching has yielded a .213 batting with two outs and in the last four, foes are 4-for-37, .108, with two outs in an inning. In that time the team's earned run average has dropped by an entire run to a season-low 4.50.
Griffin's starting outfield is shredding the cover off of the ball. Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.), Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) and Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) have combined for five homers, 38 RBIs and 46 runs scored. That trio has either driven in or scored 84 of the unit's 109 runs on the year. Griffin has hit safely in every game on the year and has a .595 batting average thanks to a week where he hit .846, 11-for-13.
Carson-Newman (9-3) leads the all-time series with UVA Wise (3-6) 12-1 with wins in 10 consecutive affairs since falling 10-4 at Wise on March 22, 2016. The Eagles are 11-0 all-time at home scoring double-digit runs five times in the last 10 outscoring the Cavaliers 45-17 in a series sweep last season.
The Eagles hit .480 as a team in the series blasting seven home runs striking out just seven times. Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) led the way with two homers and six RBIs. All told, 10 different Eagles produced hits in half of their at bats with at least four swings at the dish.
Hank Banner retired after 21 seasons and Brandon Costa has taken over the program after spending four years as an assistant. He played his collegiate baseball at Concord before spending a year as the catching coach moving to Charleston and then Radford where he helped the team win the 2017 Big South Tournament Championship.
After going 5-28 overall in 2021, the club was selected last in the preseason South Atlantic Conference poll receiving 34 points fewer than Limestone. The unit won two total road games last year but has won three of its first nine to begin this year.
The team's pitching staff has been the biggest weak link for the team posting a 10.29 team ERA allowing a .359 batting average. The hurlers have struck out 52 and walked 50 surrendering seven long balls. Foes have scored at least six runs in every game and hit double figures three times. Other than giving up four hits to Southern Wesleyan in a 7-6 win on Feb. 5, opponents have at least nine hits in every game with 10 or more seven times.
Nash Bingham is the only one of 12 pitchers to give up fewer than two runs on the year as the rookie has not allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings with a save through three outings. He has fanned seven while walking five and giving up four hits, none for extra bases.
Wise has fared better at the plate blasting 10 home runs including nine over a six-game long ball streak. However it has been boom or bust with five games producing four or fewer runs. In those games, the team has hit a long ball four times.
Tyler Campbell is leading the offensive attack with four home runs and 10 RBIs with hits in six of his first seven games of the year including a two-homer, six RBI day against Emory & Henry on Saturday. Hunter Meador is one of the top hitters in the league based on average as he is hitting .455 with three multi-hit days.
Tuesday's game can be seen and heard with video and audio streams available thanks to the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live for all of the action from the banks of Mossy Creek.
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