Carson-Newman Baseball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman baseball looks to rebound from a series sweep to Lincoln Memorial Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. when the Belmont Abbey Crusaders (11-8) come to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex for a midweek contest against the Eagles (9-10).
Carson-Newman is raising its batting averaging with runners in scoring position but the Eagles are still hitting just .258 in key situations despite the fact that leadoff batters are reaching at a .428 clip this year.
"I think we've got to learn how to compete in the box a little bit better especially in those runners in scoring position opportunities and two outs," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "Whether we have a lead to try to tack on and keep us at bay."
The Eagles will look to right the ship against the Crusaders having lost seven of their last eight contests, five of which have come by just one run.
"The past has happened and we can't control that," Griffin said. "It's lessons for all of us. It's lessons for me as a coach, my assistants, our players to understand that this is life and this is going to be a test. Where is our faith? Our faith is in God and knowing that he has a plan for us in this whole situation. These are all tests and we know it. It hurts and it's tough, but that's life."
Belmont Abbey comes to town having lost four games in a row including a pair of games where the Crusaders yielded 15 or more runs. The pitching staff ranks ninth out of 10 Conference Carolinas teams with a 7.21 earned run over having given up 24 home runs, a league high.
The Crusaders are still third in Conference Carolinas with an 8-4 league mark thanks in large part to a strong offense. Belmont Abbey is the conference's most patient team having drawn 90 walks while ranking in top-five in every other relevant statistical offensive category. Anthony Dimino in third in the league with a .462 batting average leading a group of nine players with a .300 or better batting average.
Tuesday's contest marks the 25th time the two programs have met with Carson-Newman holding a 15-9 advantage. The two sides split two meetings in 2014 with each team taking a victory on the road.
On February 26 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex, Belmont won 7-4 to snap Carson-Newman's five-game home winning streak to start the season. The Crusaders cranked out 12 hits as the Eagles trailed 7-1 in the eighth inning before plating three runs in the frame.
Carson-Newman hammered out 15 hits in a 10-3 win on April 16 on Belmont Abbey's senior day. 10 different Eagles had at least one hit on the afternoon as they had hits in eight of the nine innings and scored at least one run in six separate stanzas. Vince Apicella (Dillsburg, Pa.) hurled seven scoreless innings to pick up the victory at Abbey Yard.
Tuesday's game will be broadcast in high definition on cneagles.com/live with pregame coverage beginning 10 minutes prior to first pitch on the Eagle Sports Network.
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