JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Before a stretch where Carson-Newman plays seven of eight on the road, the Eagles play host to Anderson in a South Atlantic Conference series starting on Friday at 2 p.m. before closing things out on Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
"We like playing at home," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "It's a great environment and we are more comfortable here. I like what we have as far as what our starting pitching has done at home. We have three quality starters and the way the [bullpen] has been used by coach Bounds. We have been effective and we feel like we will be in the game.
"We know what we are going to get with Anderson and coach Miller and his group. They have some outstanding arms that are going to throw on the weekend. There are a couple guys in that lineup that are swinging it well."
Carson-Newman (14-9, 6-3) will play a split weekend series against a SAC foe for the first time since doing so against Lenoir-Rhyne at home on March 1 and 3, 2013 when the Eagles swept the Bears winning a pair of one-run games.
Against Anderson (8-12, 5-4) in the all-time series, the Eagles hold a commanding 24-8 lead and is 10-3 inside of the friendly confines in the first 13 meetings. The Trojans have won a pair of three-game sets between the two programs coming back-to-back campaigns. The first came in 2013 in Jefferson City with the other coming at Anderson in 2014 as each were two out of three. Anderson won three straight during that time as the only instance where the Trojans have strung together victories against C-N.
Ten of the 24 wins for Carson-Newman in the series have featured double-digit run-producing outings as the Eagles are looking for a fourth straight series victory over the Trojans.
In 2017, Griffin's group opened the weekend by crushing the Trojans in a twin-bill to the tune of a 24-13 total tally as C-N racked up 29 knocks on the day. Eight players on the C-N roster had at least two hits on the day as Cade Snapp led all players by going 7-for-9 with a home run and four driven in. Brett Langhorne drove in a team-high five runs on the day going 4-for-8 with his second long ball of the year.
Anderson is coming off of a sweep against Coker last weekend at home where it outscored the Cobras 24-11 during the stretch. However, the Trojans are 1-5 on the road this season with the lone triumph coming in the series finale against Lincoln Memorial on March 3. A passed ball allowed Tyler Miller to cross the plate in the eighth to give Anderson the extra-inning victory.
There is not a significant difference offensively in the home and road splits but on the mound, the Trojans pitching staff is yielding a 9.56 earned run averaged away from home compared to a 4.72 mark. The pitching staff has allowed a home run in 11 of the last 17 games after not allowing one in any of the first three.
Overall in the field, Anderson ranks ninth in the SAC and 203rd in America in fielding percentage at .947 having committed an error in 18 of the 20 games this year. In 11 of those contests, the Trojans registered multiple errors including a season-high five against Coker in the middle game of the series.
Chandler Castleberry has taken over the offensive firepower with a team-high six long balls, good for fourth in the SAC on the year. His 10-game hitting streak was snapped in the series finale against Coker but he is hitting .385 with three bombs and 12 RBIs in March.
All three games of the series will be available online on cneagles.com/live featuring video and audio streams from the Eagle Sports Network.
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