JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After dropping two of three games at Anderson, the Carson-Newman Eagles (8-3) return home to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex to host the Limestone Saints (2-5) Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Carson-Newman had won five straight contests until a game one loss to the Trojans Saturday afternoon. The Eagles allowed 13 runs in the three-game set in South Carolina, more than the pitching staff had allowed in the previous four ball games.
The Eagle bullpen had allowed just five runs in 25.1 innings prior to the weekend before allowing eight runs in 9.1 innings.
Junior left field Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and junior shortstop Bryan Everhart (Greeneville, Tenn.) are both riding eight-game hitting streaks entering Tuesday's contest. Everhart ranks among the top five in the South Atlantic Conference with a .438 batting average and two home runs, both of which he hit in South Carolina.
Last season Carson-Newman lost to Limestone 4-1 in a game where the Eagles committed six errors and recorded just one base hit. It was a game where Carson-Newman used six different pitchers and allowed just five base runners (three hits and two walks).
Sophomore right-hander Clayton Eames (Hoschton, Ga.) will make his third start of the season for the Eagles. Eames pitched last season at Limestone taking the loss despite allowing just one hit and no earned runs.
The Saints have seen four games either postponed or cancelled over the last two weeks and come to Mossy Creek having lost three straight games. In that span, Limestone's bullpen has allowed 14 runs, 11 hits and five walks in just 7.2 innings. Overall, the pitching staff has a 6.10 earned run average having walked 35 batters in 59 innings so far this season.
Offensively, the Saints are hitting .286, but are averaging just over four runs per contest. Tyler Wood leads the team in hitting with a .421 average while Chad Balderman leads the roster in RBIs with six and home runs with two while hitting at a .357 clip.
The Eagles trail in the all-time series 9-10 which includes a three-game losing streak dating back to an 8-2 win on April 26, 2011.
Live video and live stats can be found by visiting cneagles.com/live. Pregame coverage begins at 1:50 p.m. on the Eagle Sports Network.
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