Carson-Newman Baseball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (11-9, 6-6 South Atlantic Conference) and the Mars Hill Lions (7-12, 6-6 SAC) are tied for fifth place in the SAC as the Lions come to Mossy Creek for a three-game series at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex for a 2 p.m. first pitch Friday afternoon and a doubleheader Saturday afternoon beginning at noon.

Over the last eight games, Carson-Newman hitters have tallied a combined .235 batting average at the plate after beginning the year with a .289 average. While the Eagles are battling at the plate, they have not seen the results in game action. The overall attitude of the team has not wavered through a 2-6 stretch.

"Every day is a challenge," head coach Tom Griffin said of the grind of baseball. "We are fortunate to do what we do and we can't lose perspective of that. We are not forgetting about what our trademark is and who we are."

After a 3-1 loss to Trevecca Nazerene where the Eagles stranded a season-high 12 runners on base, Carson-Newman looks to this weekend as an opportunity to climb into the top four the conference.

"We are worrying about what we are going to do and how we are going to play this game," Griffin said about his team's preparation for the weekend. "We will worry about one pitch at a time and compete against the baseball. We are going to control what we can control."

The all-time series has been dominated by the Eagles who have won 51 of the 70 previous meetings. Mars Hill, however, won two of three games in 2013 winning a pair of one-run meetings that went to extra frames.

The Lions have also lost six of their last eight ball games and are coming off of a 14-1 defeat to King on Tuesday. The Mars Hill pitching staff surrendered 19 hits, including eight extra-base hits.

Senior right-hander Dale Innes is 2-1 this season with a 4.75 earned run average and has struck out 35 batters this season, good for second-best in the SAC. As a team, Mars Hill has the worst team ERA in the league with a 6.17 tally having walked 70 batters, the third-most in the league.

Sophomore infielder Evan Rogers leads the team in hitting with a .361 batting average, two home runs and five RBI. The roster ranks fifth in the conference with a .273 average but has produced the third-fewest runs of any team with 77.

Defensively, Carson-Newman sports the best fielding percentage in the SAC with a .967 mark while Mars Hill sits in tenth with a .957 mark having committed 29 errors this season.

Each game this weekend will be broadcast in high definition on the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live. Pregame coverage begins ten minutes prior to the first pitch with an interview with Griffin and the starting lineups.