JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Having won all four contests in Rome between the two schools, Carson-Newman visits Shorter Tuesday afternoon for a 3 p.m. first pitch looking to beat a non-conference team for the first time since March 6.
In the first 11 games of the season, the Eagles committed 24 errors ranking towards the bottom in the league in the category. Coach Tom Griffin's group has vastly improved registering a total of 21 miscues in 19 games since starting South Atlantic Conference play at Newberry on Feb. 23. The team has tallied a league-best .973 fielding percentage in conference outings raising its overall margin to .958, good for third in the SAC.
Tuesday is the eighth meeting between the two schools since they first met in 2014 as Carson-Newman (18-12) has won three straight and holds a 6-1 lead. The Eagles have won on Shorter's campus in all four of their trips outscoring the Hawks 33-18 over that period. The only win for the Hawks came on April 6, 2016 coming back to win 9-8.
The two programs met at the Ledbetter Complex on March 29, 2017 with C-N prevailing 11-4 behind 15 hits from the offense. It ended an eight-game road losing skid that matched the program's longest as a Division II member.
Brett Langhorne drove in three runs and scored the game-winning run and nine pitchers paced Carson-Newman to a 6-5 victory over Shorter (13-16) at Mossy Creek on Feb. 13. C-N went 5-for-12, .417, with runners in scoring position.
Shorter is coming off of a series victory on the road against second-ranked Delta State after falling in game one to the Statesmen 10-3. The Hawks won 9-2 and 3-0 in the final two games as Delta State fell to 20-6 overall on the year.
In lieu of the landmark victories on the road, Shorter sits in 11th place out of 14 teams in the Gulf South Conference standings as the unit continues to be one of the most aggressive running teams with 53 stolen bases to lead the league. Ivan Nunez is a perfect 12-for-12 to lead the way as 14 different players have at least one steal on the season.
Despite clubbing the second-most homers in the Gulf South, Shorter's offense is third from the bottom in batting average at .244 and in on-base percentage at .348. One regular is hitting above .300 as Samyr Santos checks in at a .333 clip playing in 28 games with 10 long balls on the year while the rest of the club combines for 17. His six-game hitting streak was snapped in the series finale against Delta State. Of the six other players that have started at least 25 games, four hitters have a batting average of .244 or lower.
Defensively, the Hawks are in the top four in the Gulf South in fielding percentage at .964, .002 behind league-leading West Florida. It has turned 22 double plays but the catching group has allowed 12 passed balls, the third-most in the GSC.
On the mound, the hurlers have combined to walk the second-most batters in the league with 137 base on balls issued. It is striking out the second-fewest batters at 176 through 29 games on the season as opponents are hitting .273 on the season.
Fans can enjoy coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 2:50 p.m. on cneagles.com/live with a free audio stream available of the contest.
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