JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The two teams, Carson-Newman and Tusculum, in third place in the South Atlantic Conference standings square off for a three-game set beginning Friday evening at Pioneer Park at 6 p.m. before a doubleheader closes out the conference regular season at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
This weekend will be the first time since 2016 that the two clubs square off in the SAC regular season. Carson-Newman holds the all-time edge through 91 games with a 47-44 lead. The Eagles did play Tusculum twice in 2017 falling 10-8 in a non-conference game on Feb. 21 and eliminating the Pioneers 11-5 in the SAC Baseball Championships behind a complete game from Jordan Davis.
"You never know when they are going to click," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin stated. "Sometimes you don't know when it's going to come. You just keep them positive, keep them training. You get them as many reps as you can in training or games and you hope they take advantage of it."
With a sweep of Tusculum over the weekend, the Eagles would match the program record for league victories in a season with the 1999 group that won 16.
The 2018 version of the three-game set registers similar storylines to the 2016 series in Greeneville. In 2016, C-N could finish anywhere from second to ninth while this season the Eagles can finish anywhere from third to eighth.
In 2016, C-N swept a tight series by a total five runs differential between the two clubs with the final game sealing the two seed and Griffin's 500th career coaching win.
Tusculum is 8-4 against SAC teams at home this season but the club has lost two of the last three series it has played dating back to a home sweep of Anderson on March 25-26. With an overall home record of 16-11 at home, the Pioneers have won eight of their last 12 inside of the friendly confines.
"Coach Jones is one of the best coaches in Division II baseball," Griffin assessed. "That program he has built down there is second to none. We know they are prepared. Those guys are going to play because of the coaching they are getting. They play well because there is a tradition they are trying to uphold. They do it in a first-class manner. You know when we go to play it's going to be competitive on both sides and that's why we love this series."
Two of the top defensive teams in SAC play are getting together as each club has turned 27 double plays against SAC foes. Overall in 2018, Tusculum has turned 46, second in the country and four behind national leader Columbus State.
At the plate, the unit has scored 204 runs through 24 SAC outings, the second-most in the league. It is a group that averages nearly eight runs per game ranking ninth in America with 207 walks on the year. No team in the SAC has stolen fewer bases than Tusculum's 23, 12 of which have come in league outings.
Sophomore Daulton Martin is the team's top hitter and tied with Newberry's Danton Hyman for the conference's lead with a .408 batting average. His 73 hits are four behind Catawba's Chance Bowden for the top spot in the country. He has 24 multi-hit efforts but is hitless in his last eight at-bats after going 17-for-29 during a seven-game hitting streak.
On the mound, the hurlers are middle of the pack in most categories with the glaring weakness coming in the control department. The Pioneers have walked more batters than any other club with 213. Despite an ERA of 6.48 in conference games, the unit is four runs better at home than on the road with a 4.40 margin this season.
Junior right-hander Charles Hall is ninth in the conference with a 4.19 ERA and punch outs with 55. His ERA is below four in conference games and in home starts. Hall has allowed at least four free passes in each of his last five starts. Despite that figure, he has allowed no more than four earned runs with two shutout efforts.
All three games over the weekend will be streamed with an audio option on cneagles.com/live starting 10 minutes before the first pitch of each contest on the Eagle Sports Network.
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