VIDEO: Jordan Griffin Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman scored its most runs in a game in three decades while scoring 35 times in a 26-12 and 9-1 twin-bill sweep at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex against South Atlantic Conference foe Anderson.
"We played really well," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "They had one of their worst series and we had one of our best. That's just baseball. You never know what is going to happen. I thought defensively we were solid. Offensively we had great approaches and took advantage of runners in scoring position. In that first game we were able to play a lot of guys. For them to have the success was great."
Carson-Newman (17-9, 9-3) posted one of its highest scoring games in the history of the program in the first outing. With 26 runs, the Eagles plated their most since throwing up a program record 29 runs against Mars Hill in 1988.
The first game featured plenty of scoring but was not the highest scoring affair in the history of the series. That distinction belongs to a game where the Eagles beat Anderson (8-15, 5-7) 24-18 in the Palmetto State on Feb. 13, 2008. The 2018 version registered 38 runs compared to the 42 in 2008.
Combined between the two games, Griffin's bunch went 16-for-41, .390, with runners in scoring position. The 26 runs just finished outside of the top 10 for a SAC team as seven clubs are tied sixth on the ledge with 27 runs.
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 26, Anderson 12
Overall in the game, 18 of the 26 runs were unearned in the contest as Anderson started Will Gee recorded one out and gave up seven runs in the opening frame. Ethan Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) was the only player to record a run-producing hit. Two errors, a passed ball, a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly capped the scoring in the opening inning.
A fielding error in the second stanza scored two more as the Eagles went on top 9-0 before the Trojans struck for three in the top of the fourth. After a fielder's choice scored a run, Will Thomas doubled to center field to cut the deficit to six at 9-3.
Jordan Griffin (Ellersie, Ga.) doubled in a run and Micah Genter (Jasper, Tenn.) singled in a pair getting the margin back to nine runs at 12-3. It started a string of three straight innings where the Eagles scored three runs.
Following a bases loaded hit batter in the top of the fifth, Griffin drove in two more with a one-out single to left field and Genter was plucked in the bottom of the fifth making it a 15-4 contest.
Anderson scored three in the sixth and three more in the seventh, but C-N scored four in the same stanzas as the score stood at 19-10 after seven frames of action.
In the eighth inning, Carson-Newman surged for seven more runs. Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, S.C.) singled in a run. Hunter Sales (Blaine, Tenn.) and Mark Treadway (Friednsville, Tenn.) came through two-out hits before Hal Bishop (Knoxville, Tenn.) cranked his first-career home run, a two-run shot, over the left-field wall to push the game to 26-10.
A bases loaded walk and a fielder's choice allowed the Trojans to get a pair in the ninth C-N used eight pitchers on the day with Brett Badacour (Ringgold, Ga.) closing out the contest.
Griffin drove in five runs, Genter plated a quartet of teammates and Treadway drove in a trio. Brett Langhorne (Mechiancsville, Va.) went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Brendan Campbell (Yardley, Pa.) went 2-for-2 with four walks and five runs scored.
"I changed my approach," Griffin assessed. "I started looking middle-away and kept my eye on the ball. I didn't chase bad pitches. [My teammates] challenged me to show them what I could do and help the team to get the W."
Eleven men tallied a hit for the home group as double-digit batters recorded knocks for the first time this season and first time since doing so against Shorter on April 11, 2017.
Jackson Strange led the Anderson offense with three hits and four runs driven in while Thomas and Dillon Carpenter each had a trio of knocks in the contest.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 9, Anderson 1
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) belted his fourth home run of the season near Mossy Creek over the left-field fence to keep the ball rolling and make it a 1-0 contest.
Two-out hitting played a role in the second as Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) drew a walk and was at second with two outs. Colby Morgan (Hixson, Tenn.) sizzled a double into the left-center field alley to increase the margin to 2-0.
C-N began to pull away in the bottom of the third putting up a three-spot in the third shoving the edge out to 5-0. A double by Langhorne and a walk to John Sharpe (Franklin, Tenn.) put two on with no one out. A failed pick-off attempt and a base knock by Goforth brought in the duo. A sacrifice fly by Griffin scored Snapp.
Strange provided some offense for Anderson in the fourth with a one-out single to right-center field to score Chandler Castleberry changing the tally to 5-1.
A single, a sacrifice bunt and two walks opened the bottom of the sixth inning. Snapp stepped to the dish and launched a 3-2 pitch into the evening sky at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex for a grand slam to slide the score to 9-1.
Snapp led the C-N offense by going 2-for-3 with five RBIs and three runs scored. It is the fourth time in his career that he tallied at least five RBIs.
Kyle Cagle (Fairview, N.C.) earned the win for the third time in his sophomore campaign allowing one earned run on six hits while striking out two.
Griffin's group hops on the bus on Tuesday to travel to King (Tenn.) for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch in Bristol. The Eagle Sports Network will be on site to provide audio commentary on cneagles.com/live.
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