JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – We wrap up our Carson-Newman Baseball Position Previews with a look at the pitchers and catchers with help from relief pitcher Grif Hughes (Knoxville, Tenn.).
It's a pitching staff that returns some of its top arms from 2023. Hughes made a team-high 24 appearances and threw 43 1/3 innings. He fanned 52 batters during the year and threw at least two innings on 13 of the 24 appearances. The lefty was used in a variety of ways, making six total and starts and recording two saves during the season.
"I was able to be so effective because of our training," Hughes said. "It's never very comfortable and so when you get in those uncomfortable positions, it makes it a little bit easier. They approached me fourth, fifth week of the year and said is this something you want to do and are you comfortable with that. And I said of course, if its going to help us win. At the end of the day, I don't care what it is, its just all about winning."
Jake Wright (Ringgold, Ga.) returns to the bullpen after he became the 30th pitcher to earn all-league laurels and the first reliever since Will Gardner in 2018 to earn the honor. The right-hander was lights out last season going 4-1 with three saves in 13 appearances with a 2.10 ERA fanning 33 and walking ten in 25 2/3 innings on the rubber. The Eagles were 9-4 this year in games he pitched. Over his 13 outings, teams have failed to score on him nine times. He had multiple strikeouts in six games.
Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) is another quality bullpen option that returns for his senior season after making 17 outings on the slab in 2023. He posted five wins with a save in 34 innings.
Joining the strong group of returners is the team's ace, Noah Pridmore (Ooltewah, Tenn.). He led the team in innings pitched as the club's Friday night starter going 4-2 with a save across 14 outings with a 4.65 ERA. Pridmore ranked seventh in the SAC in walks per nine innings, issuing 2.71 on average. The right-hander logged a career-high seven innings of shutout baseball in an 8-1 road win at Limestone scattering six hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
"You cant say enough about those guys," Hughes said. "I love those guys, they are fantastic. All three of those guys know what they are good at and they go in and tear it up every week."
The major losses to the pitching staff are Mason Mooney and Tyler Shaver who were two of the team's top three pitchers in terms of innings pitched last season. That opens up more opportunity for Ethan Patch (Whitehall, N.Y), Jacob Overbeck (Morris, Ill.) and Colby Phillips (Baxter, Tenn). Patch threw 29 1/3 innings, with a 7.36 ERA in ten starts. Overbeck and Phillips combined for 11 appearances in 2023.
"It's been good," Hughes said. "A lot of it has been a leadership thing. You see some guys that might have not spoken up in years past and they have taken that step up. That is preparing them and empowering them to have confidence knowing innings are gone and someone has to fill them."
Several transfers will look to work in the mix. Jeb Shuler transfers in from Cleveland Community College where he posted a 4.72 ERA in 17 games. Andrew Bench is another community college transfer that finished last season with a 3.75 ERA in 12 innings. A pair of left-handed pitchers from Walters State in Blake Cooper and Coltin Reynolds. Cooper was 6-2 with a 3.90 ERA, while Reynolds only made five appearances but did not allow a run.
Ryan Higgins (Spotsylvania, VA), Cole Nathan (Knoxville, Tenn) and Braden Williams (Cookeville, Tenn) are all freshman right-handed arms that will look to find their respective roles on the pitching staff. Nathan is the son of long-time MLB reliever Joe Nathan.
"This place isn't like anywhere else," Hughes said. "You get recruited here and you hear that from people outside of here. But then when you get here, and you actually realize it is not like anywhere else it can be a whirlwind. I took it upon myself with these group of seniors to make sure the new players understand that they can be successful here. Watching their bullpens and seeing how they've progressed through the fall. It's going to work out for us, they look really good right now."
Behind the dish, Spencer Bright (Iron Station, N.C.) and Frankie Delgado (Deltona, Fla.) return behind the dish after the two combined to appear in more than 55 games last season.
Nicholas Castellana transfers in from Niagara Community College where he hit.427, four home runs and drove in 37 runs. The catcher had 13 multi-hit games and stole 14 bases in 2023. Carson Cochran (Franklin, Tenn.) is a freshman from Franklin high school that will look to provide depth as well.
"Griff makes everyone prepared back there," Hughes said. "We have tons of catchers and none of them aren't prepared. You can throw any of them back there and I would feel confident. It's the ability to control the game. It's really exciting to have a good group of guys back there like that."
Carson-Newman takes the field for the first time in 2024 starting a three-game home series at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex with King on Feb 3rd. Every home game can be heard on cneagles.com/live with live video available on the Eagle Sports Network. Select road games will be available with an audio stream.
