JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With each passing season, Carson-Newman baseball's alumni base playing professionally continues to expand as five former Eagles starred on the diamond. Steve Cishek produced another elite season for the Chicago Cubs and Will Gardner dominated his first full minor league campaign while picking some hardware off of the field.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Steve Cishek – RP, Chicago Cubs
Season Stats: 4-6, 7 Saves, 2.95 ERA, 70 Games, 57 K, 64 IP
In his 10th season in the big leagues, the right-hander appeared in the 25th-most games of any pitcher in 2019 despite missing two weeks on the injured list. This season marked the third consecutive campaign and sixth overall that Cishek posted an ERA below three as his career total sits at 2.69. He upped his career save number to 132, a tally that sits at No. 17 among active players.
Cishek earned his first save of the season against one of his former teams on April 30 recording the final four outs in a 6-5 win in Seattle. The damage against former clubs continued as he picked up his first win of the year a week later versus Miami.
The Falmouth, Mass. Native notched four saves in April as all seven of his saves in 2019 came in roughly a two-month stretch. His fourth save of the year came on May 19 at Washington where he racked up seven outs allowing one hit and striking out two to preserve a 6-5 triumph over the Nationals. The sidewinder ended the year on a strong note allowing two earned runs over his final 14 2/3 innings on the mound. During that time, opponents hit .184 against him with 12 strikeouts and a 1.23 ERA.
Diving into the numbers deeper, Cishek posted the fourth-best soft contact percentage in baseball among hurlers with at least 50 innings yielding a 25.4 percent clip. A byproduct of that effort showed foes notched the fourth-lowest hard hit clip at 27 percent of batted balls.
Overall on the year, the former Eagle posted 57 scoreless outings racking up multiple strikeouts on 17 occasions while not conceding a base runner 23 times.
Charlie puts @srSHREK31's dad skills to the test.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2019
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MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Will Gardner – RP, Greensboro Grasshoppers (A – Pittsburgh Pirates)
Season Stats: 3-1, 4 Saves, 3.00 ERA, 30 Games, 58 K, 48.0 IP, .191 BAA
In his first full season of minor league baseball, the former All-SAC selection was a dominating fixture in the Grasshoppers bullpen. After giving up a solo home run in his first appearance of the season, the righty went nine straight scoreless outings through June 20 lowering his ERA to 0.54 over his first 16 2/3 innings. The longest outing of the year for Gardner turned out to be his third game firing three scoreless innings punching out five against Lakewood on May 19.
Overall, the Morristown, Tenn. native did not concede a run in 21 out his 30 times on the rubber with 11 of those being multi-inning efforts. Take out one outing on Aug. 25 and the flamethrower allowed 10 earned runs in 47 innings. Opponents mustered a .191 batting average and he nailed down four saves on the season.
While he exceled on the diamond, perhaps the highlight of the year for Gardner was being honored among nine winners in the Pirates organization for the 12th annual Pirates Community Commitment Program (PCCP). He was honored on the field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh in early September.
Each year, the Pirates acknowledge players from each of their minor league affiliates as the recipients of the organization's annual PCCP Awards. This program encourages players throughout the Pirates' system to emulate Roberto Clemente's legacy of community service. Each player has completed a minimum of 10 hours of community service in their respective affiliate's community during this season.
The PCCP award recipients are quality individuals on and off the field who have completed countless hours of community service, demonstrated leadership of community involvement among teammates, and has gone above and beyond the normal requirements while participating in the Pirates Community Commitment Program.
Will Gardner honored by Pirates tonight for Community Service work. Representing the Greenville Grasshoppers organization pic.twitter.com/RTU0cXI0ty
— Carson Newman Baseball (@CNBaseball) September 18, 2019
Ethan Goforth – C, Bristol Pirates (Rookie – Pittsburgh Pirates)
Season Stats: .226/.294/.371, 20 Games, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 2B, 14 Hits, 5 Runs
The perennial all-conference catcher and defender got his first taste of affiliated baseball up the road from C-N's campus where he saw action in 20 contests. His first-career hit came on July 3, a base hit at Kingsport. After breaking the seal, he quickly turned around and tallied his first multi-hit efforts going 2-for-4 with two runs scored on July 12 versus Johnson City. It was one of three multi-hit days at the office for him.
His first-career home run came on July 26 against Elizabethton. He wasted no time producing his second doing so in his next start at Elizabethton as part of a 2-for-4 day at the office. Perhaps the highlight of his season came against Kingsport on Aug. 8 when he went 3-for-4 with a season-high three RBIs.
Opening his pro career in Bristol has been a blessing for catcher Ethan Goforth, who played for the @BBurgHSBruins and @Carson_Newman_U: https://t.co/Y0rkOzbQsR pic.twitter.com/HOnxsZ2vqd
— BristolSports (@BHCSports) August 20, 2019
Greg Jones – C, Asheville Tourists (A – Colorado Rockies)
Season Stats: .050/.174/.200, 7 Games, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 Runs
While it was a short season on the active roster for Jones, he made his presence felt in the biggest of ways on July 1. The Maryville, Tenn. native stepped to the dish with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth against Lexington and his team behind 8-5. The left-handed hitter turned on a pitch crushing it over the fence for a walk-off grand slam to seal a comeback win.
— Asheville Tourists (@GoTourists) July 2, 2019
Brett Langhorne – INF, Florida Fire Frogs (A – Atlanta Braves)
Season Stats: .203/.289/.281, 117 Games, 3 HR, 34 RBIs, 15 2B, 2 3B, 73 Hits, 38 Runs, 12 SB
In the notoriously offensive suffocating Florida State League, Langhorne was a fixture in the Fire Frogs lineup. He had 16 multi-hit games on the year with his best day at the office coming on July 16 at Palm Beach where he registered a 4-for-5 effort with at the plate with two doubles two RBIs. Hitting on the road proved to be his strength as he posted a batting average nearly 50 points higher away from home.
His first-career long ball was a three-run shot at St. Lucie on April 12 as he scored twice and walked twice against the Mets. His other homers were solo jobs on July 17 and July 28 versus Palm Beach and Daytona.
Stealing a dozen bases, he swiped a pair of sacks at Charlotte on Aug. 26 scoring two runs in the process. His strongest month at the plate came in July when he hit .274 over 23 games with a couple long balls and eight RBIs.
Brett Langhorne leads off in our @Allegiant order for the third time this year, looking to build upon his two-hit game in last night's set opening win
— Florida Fire Frogs (@FireFrogsBB) August 6, 2019
��️: The Jack
First Pitch: 7:05, Pregame 6:50
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For the latest information on Carson-Newman baseball, stay tuned to cneagles.com and follow @CNbaseball on Twitter.
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