JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to win its first game over a ranked club this season, Carson-Newman (22-17) hits the road for a midweek non-conference game tomorrow afternoon against #12 Young Harris at 12:00 p.m.
Carson-Newman continues to play its best baseball of the season, having won five of its last six and ten of its past 13 games with just two losses in SAC play during this stretch. The Eagles on in the midst of their final road stretch of the season playing their fourth straight away from home with a weekend series at Wingate still on the docket. Tom Griffin's team is 7-8 on the road this year and has won four of its last six road games.
Over the last ten games, James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) has drove in 19 runs nearly two per game and is hitting .444 at the plate with four home runs. Prior to this stretch at the dish, Denten had just 20 RBI in his first 24 games of his senior season. It's not just been Denten that's propelled an offense to score more than eight runs per game over the last ten. Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) has 18 RBI after just 15 in his first 24 appearances this season. Spencer Williams (Seymour, Tenn.) has drove in ten runs as well and both him and Floyd have hit two home runs in their last ten. Between this trio, they have combined to drive in 47 of C-N's 83 runs over the past ten games.
The Eagles will aim to win its first midweek game away from home this season. They have made non-conference road trips to Tusculum, Lee and King and have come up short in all three with two of those losses coming by two runs or less.
C-N gets a second crack at a ranked team when it battles twelfth ranked Young Harris tomorrow. Overall, C-N is 34-67 under Griffin when facing ranked ball clubs and has won 21 of those games at home. Three of those ranked victories came in 2023. As a Division II program, the Orange and Blue have a 47-98-1 record against the top 25.
The Mountain Lions were ranked #11 when they came to Mossy Creek and defeated the Eagles 16-7 back on March 19. Young Harris scored the game's first nine runs in the first five innings and never looked back to remain undefeated against C-N.
YHC is an impressive 31-9 this season and holds a six-game winning streak, the eighth longest active winning streak in DII. Six of its nine losses have come in a competitive Conference Carolinas league. Young Harris has battled SAC schools Mars Hill and Tusculum, losing twice to the Lions and defeating the Pioneers once.
The Mountain Lions have been impressive at home this season with a 17-2 record. Over the past two seasons, Stephen Waggoner's team has lost just five games at Zell B. Miller Field.
In the meeting earlier this season, Kade Smallwood drove in four runs and had three hits to pace a 17 hit, 16 run effort offensively for the Lions. Every hitter in the starting lineup had a base hit for YHC while four different players drove in multiple runs.
Jeremy Begora is the club's top hitter, hitting .368 this season with a team-high ten home runs and 38 RBI. He has hit safely in 12 straight games and paces an offense that has scored double-digits in four consecutive games.
The contest will have a free live stream available at https://conferencecarolinasdn.com/yhcmountainlions/
Fans can also follow with the game at @CN_Eagles on X (formerly Twitter) for live updates throughout the game.
