JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In the final full week of regular season action, the Carson-Newman Eagles (20-24) will travel to Belmont, N.C. to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders Wednesday afternoon at Abbey Yard for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch.
Carson-Newman was swept for the first time this year in a three-game series by Wingate that snapped a three-game winning streak.
"I'm proud of them," head coach Tom Griffin said about his team's competitiveness. "I think we are learning how to deal with adversity, what it means and where our faith has to go."
With just five regular season games left on the schedule, the Eagles are trying to respond to the ups and downs of the 2014 season. A 7-4 loss to Belmont Abbey on February 26 was not only the Eagles first home loss of the season, but it came in the midst of a stretch where Carson-Newman lost six of eight games.
In the game, the Crusaders jumped out to a 6-1 lead after four innings of play. A four-run third inning saw the first five batters reach for Belmont Abbey as first basemen Weston Clarke capped the frame with a two-run single into center field.
Sophomore Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) went 2-for-5 with one RBI in the game to pace an Eagle offense that had nine hits in the contest.
Sophomore starter Clayton Eames (Hoschton, Ga.) took his first loss of the season after allowing five earned runs on seven hits in three innings. Eames is scheduled to get the start on Wednesday against the Crusaders. It will mark just the fifth game Eames has thrown away from home this season, but he has only walked three in 9.1 innings.
The Crusaders are playing at home for the first time since April 1, a string of seven straight road games. Belmont Abbey was swept by Mount Olive in two one-run games and a two-run contest. Belmont Abbey is 7-14 at Abbey Yard this season.
As a team, the Crusaders are hitting .267 with Anthony Dimino and Clarke leading the bats. Dimino has five home runs and 30 RBI with a .320 average while Clarke is batting .307 with two bombs and 22 RBI.
The Belmont Abbey pitching staff has a 5.65 ERA as opponents have racked up 416 hits in 347 innings on the year.
Wednesday marks the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs with the Eagles holding a 15-10 advantage.
The titanic struggle can be heard by visiting cneagles.com/live with pregame coverage scheduled to begin ten minutes prior to the first pitch on the Eagle Sports Network.
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