JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (17-18) outhit the No. 7 team in the country over on Sunday afternoon, but the Eagles were unable to get hits when they counted. Carson-Newman left 19 men on bases between two games against Georgia College and in the second game on Sunday, the home team was 1-for-14 with runners on base.
It has been an unfortunate theme for the Eagles over the last month as there are several positives, but at the end of the game Carson-Newman has been on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Head coach Tom Griffin and company have been able to put things in perspective throughout a bump in the road.
"It's a great chance to play baseball," Griffin said of a busy week ahead. "Isn't that great? This is fantastic. We are looking to forward to practice and a lot of baseball."
Carson-Newman begins a week where it will play five games over a five day stretch Tuesday afternoon at the Limestone Saints (16-17) at 3 p.m. Tuesday marks the 21st overall meeting between Carson-Newman and Limestone with each team holding ten victories. On February 18, the Eagles won 6-3 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
In the first meeting this season, the Eagles scored the first six runs of the game and took a 6-0 lead to the ninth inning where Limestone was able to plate three runs before the bullpen closed the door.
Senior second basemen Trace Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.) and junior catcher J.D. Cowart (Athens, Tenn.) each tallied two hits, one RBI and a run scored in the game.
Sophomore right-hander Clayton Eames (Hoschton, Ga.) fired 6.2 scoreless innings scattering five hits to earn his first career victory.
Limestone was led by first basemen Kyle Booth who went 2-for-3 in the game as the Saints were held to just six hits. Booth has surged since that game compiling a .409 season average with two home runs and 27 runs batted in.
As a team, Limestone is hitting .319 on the year while posting an earned run average of 5.04.
The Saints have won four straight games and 10 of their last 12 ball games dating back to March 11. In that time, Limestone has wins over two South Atlantic Conference opponents, Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill, and two victories over 2014 opponent for Carson-Newman, Belmont Abbey.
After Tuesday, the Eagles will head to Smokies Park, the home of the Tennessee Smokies, the Cubs Double-A team, to face King University and play host to Newberry for a three-game series.
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