JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman baseball coach Tom Griffin announced the 2015 schedule for his team Wednesday afternoon that features a first weekend home contest against the defending South Atlantic Conference Champion Catawba Indians. Catawba lost to Columbus State in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Baseball Tournament to conclude its 2014 campaign 35-20.
"Having a conference game the very first weekend stands out to us," Griffin said. "We have to come right out of the gates ready to play against a conference opponent. Obviously every conference game is a battle. Coming out against Catawba who year in and year out is one of the top teams is certainly an interesting way to come out of the gate."
After finishing 2014 in eighth in the SAC standings a year ago, the Eagles will look for more consistency and more tenacity. This year's group will feature 10 seniors including first team All-SAC outfielder and Gold Glove winner Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and what expects to be a senior-laden pitching staff led by righthander Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio).
"It was playing not lose instead of playing to win and I think our guys understood that," Griffin said. "Sometimes it's hard to get out of that trap by playing tentative. I think guys were disappointed in the past and they are using it as a learning experience. The tough thing would be if these guys were all freshman. These guys have gone through it and have worked extremely hard."
Carson-Newman opens the season on February 4 at Limestone but will play 13 of its first 18 games at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. With a front-loaded slate, it will be imperative that the Eagles start the year on the right foot as Griffin's group finishes the season by playing eight of nine games on the road including a pair of three-game series at Newberry and Wingate, a duo that finished in the top-four of the SAC a season ago.
"That's dealing with the mental aspect of the game," Griffin said. "Believe me we have discussed and worked all fall about our attitudes and the way we are going to view things. As hard as it is we have really stressed the fact that we can only worry about today. We can't look too far ahead. If we look too far ahead then I think it will affect our performance."
Outside of its SAC schedule, Carson-Newman will play nonconference opponents Limestone, North Greenville and Bluefield State once, Shorter, UVA-Wise, King (Tenn.) and Belmont Abbey in a home-and-home, Cedarville in a home two-game set and Notre Dame (Ohio) and Winston-Salem State in home three-game series.
One thing that students and fans can look forward to this upcoming season is giveaways and free food at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. Griffin is ironing out the final details and fans are encouraged to stay tuned on opportunities to win baseball gear.
"We don't have lights," Griffin said. "Students are in class when we start playing and people are working when we are playing so there is a challenge to get people out to games when you don't have lights and there is not a 6 o'clock game. We do want to attract students and fans by getting more information out to them as far as when we are playing and having some giveaways."
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