JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a critical weekend series that features two clubs jostling for position in the South Atlantic Conference standings, Carson-Newman plays host to Lenoir-Rhyne for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon.
Prior to Friday afternoon's game, the Eagles will honor eight members of the senior class in a ceremony on the field slated to start at 1:20 p.m. Two are position players in starters Brett Langhorne and Cade Snapp. The rest are pitchers in Brett Badacour, Dillon Cate, Mo Foster, Will Gardner, Jonathan Jacks and Harley Thompson.
"Every coach when you get to this point in the year deals with this kind of send off," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "It's bittersweet. You are appreciative of the effort, the time and the investment they have made for the program on and off the field to represent it the way you want to. You are very happy for them for what they are about to enter into life. That next journey and next step, they are very successful and you feel like they are going to be prepared."
The Eagles have lost five straight SAC outings for the first time since doing so in mid-March 2016 when the team responded by 11 of its final 16 of the season. The last time the school lost more than five in-a-row came during the 2015 season when it took nine consecutive setbacks from the end of February to mid-March before winning five of the next seven contests in league action.
Carson-Newman (20-19, 11-10) and Lenoir-Rhyne (25-16, 11-10) have squared off 90 times in the last 28 years as the Eagles hold a 58-32 overall advantage that includes a 35-9 record in games played at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. Coach Tom Griffin holds a 26-8 record against the Bears since taking the reins in 2006. C-N is 36-9 against L-R since the start of the 2003 season having lost more than one game straight just once, on March 21-22, 2014 in Hickory during that stretch.
There have been 14 three-game sets played at Mossy Creek since 1990 as the Eagles have won 12 of them, with seven sweeps. C-N has won eight straight home series, five of which were sweeps, over the Bears since L-R came to town in 2002 and won two out of three games. The only other time the Bears won a series at the SDBC came in 1995.
Lenoir-Rhyne has lost three straight SAC series salvaging just one game in a stretch against Wingate, Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum. Since starting the campaign 10-2, the group is 15-14 since Feb. 20.
"We know L-R is a very good club," Griffin assessed. "That pitching staff is very good. They have some good hitters in that lineup that we faced last year. Defensively, coach Fleenor does a great job as far as getting a club prepared. We know that it's going to be a tough battle and they have a lot to play for."
The Bears are 8-7 on the road this season but half of the victories came in series triumphs against Anderson and Catawba in the first two weekends of league action. While the offense is towards the top of the league in the majority of categories most of that damage as come at home where it averages two runs better per night. The club is hitting .262 away from home, 90 points less than the number inside of the home diamond.
Only Coker has scored fewer runs in SAC outings than L-R's 117 but has one of the league's top hitters. Justin Dean ranks sixth in the league in batting average at .397 as he has hit safely in nine straight games going 19-for-31 with 12 runs scored. The junior has crossed the dish 10 times in the last six contests.
On the slab, sophomore right-hander John Grigg leads the SAC and is 10th in the country with seven wins on the year. He has made 10 starts this year as the Bears have lost just one time that he has taken the ball. It was a 1-0 setback at Wingate on March 25 as Bradley Brown hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth. Grigg is allowing the second-fewest hits per nine innings and is third in punch outs. He started the series finale against the Eagles in 2017 going three innings with five strikeouts and one earned run on two hits.
Senior righty Landon Whitson is one of the best relievers in the league ranking second with eight saves on the year. In 11 2/3 innings in SAC games, he has yet to allow a run striking out 17 and giving up four hits and four walks. Whitson has allowed two unearned runs in his last seven outings. His last earned run allowed came on March 14.
Fans can enjoy all three games during the weekend with audio and video streams available on cneagles.com/live starting 10 minutes before first pitch courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
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