JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Prior to opening South Atlantic Conference Tournament play on Friday, Carson-Newman closes the doors to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Bluefield State.
"It's going to be important in our training that we come out with that intensity level and that passion," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "We don't have to remind them what to do. They know to do and the pace they are going to do it."
Carson-Newman (26-20) takes on Bluefield State (13-17) for the seventh time overall as the Eagles have never dropped an outing against the Blues outscoring them 94-20 in those contests. C-N has produced at least 12 runs in each of the last five outings between the teams as each meeting has taken place at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
In the April 25, 2017 game, Griffin's group scored nine runs in the bottom of the first as every starter crossed the dish in the frame en route to a 15-2 win. The Eagles picked up their 22nd home win of 2017 matching the program's Division II record for victories at home in a single season posting an identical 22-6 tally with the 2002 club.
Nine different hurlers tossed an inning for C-N allowing just five hits and racking up nine strikeouts on the day. Grant Rabbitts was given the win tossing a six-pitch first inning to be victorious for the first time since March 29, 2016. The pitching staff racked up nine punch outs on the day while Bluefield State's gave up 10 walks.
On the year, the Big Blues have played at home just five times going 3-2 at home while playing 25 games on the road going 10-15 in those outings. The team has lost six of the last seven outings.
Over the last two weeks, Bluefield State has traveled to a pair of schools from C-N's conference losing 13-2 at Tusculum on April 11 and 17-4 at Mars Hill on April 18. The Big Blues held early leads in both outings but were outscored a combined 21-2 in the middle frames of those contests.
The unit has relied heavily on senior right-hander Tanner Muovich this season. He allowed two walks and struck out three to take the loss while his club picked up four hits but could not drive in a run in a 1-0 loss at St. Augustine's when the pitching staff allowed just one hit in the game. Muovich has been better on the road posting a 4.02 ERA in road games compared to a 7.53 tally in home starts.
Offensively, the hitters have been limited to seven hits or less in seven of the last eight games. The outlier came against Chowan in a 12-11 triumph as the team also drew eight walks. In each of the last three games, the team has struck out at least 10 times.
Freshman Tanner Brandon leads the offense with a .347 batting average, seven home runs and 31 RBIs. A lot of that damage has come at home where he is 9-for-16 in the box compared to a .297 batting average in his road efforts.
Fans can check out the broadcast of the game on cneagles.com/live starting at 2:50 p.m. with coverage on the Eagle Sports Network.
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