JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles baseball team was tabbed for a fifth place finish in the 2013 South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll, announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Carson-Newman finished fifth in the SAC a season ago, and no Eagles were named to the preseason SAC first or second team.

Catawba and Tusculum were picked to finish first in the league, with both schools receiving 77 votes and five first place votes for the first place tie.

Wingate was picked third with Brevard fourth, before the Eagles were picked to finish fifth with 46 votes. Rounding out the rest of the preseason poll: Newberry (6), Lincoln Memorial (7), Mars Hill (8), Lenoir-Rhyne (17), and Anderson (10).

Carson-Newman is coming off of a 28-26 season in 2012 where the Eagles finished 13-14 in league play for their fifth place finish.

The Eagles return all outfield starters from the 2012 season in senior left fielder Zach Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.), sophomore centerfielder Cody Fox (Seymour, Tenn.), and junior right fielder Philip Duncan (Knoxville, Tenn.).

Head coach Tom Griffin enters his eighth season at the helm of the Eagle program, and under his guidance Carson-Newman is 220-153. The Eagles are 94-67 in SAC play with Griffin as head coach.

The Eagles will begin the 2013 season with a weekend series at Augusta St. on Friday Feb. 1. Friday's game is at 2 p.m., with Saturday's game at noon and the Sunday finale at 3 p.m. Carson-Newman will continue play on the road by facing Pfeiffer on Tuesday Feb. 5 at 2 p.m., followed by a weekend series at USC Aiken from Feb. 8-10 in Aiken, S.C.

Carson-Newman will begin conference play with a three-game series against the Tusculum Pioneers from Feb. 15-16 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.

Carson-Newman's first home game will be on Tuesday Feb. 12 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex as the Eagles welcome Lander to Mossy Creek. First pitch for the home opener is scheduled for 2 p.m. and coverage will be available on www.cneagles.com.