VIDEO: Tom Griffin Interview
Carson-Newman Baseball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The first South Atlantic Conference series of the year sees the Carson-Newman Eagles (0-1) play host to the Catawba Indians (2-1) Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
Coming off of a 14-inning 2-1 loss at Limestone, the Eagles feel confident in a pitching that staff that did not walk a batter in the contest while stranding 10 Saints on base.
"Our pitching did a very good job," head coach Tom Griffin said. "We had a couple young pitchers throw and they did a tremendous job. The energy level was good. It was a good ball game. I think we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times on routine plays, but that's going to happen early in the season. We got to play two sevens yesterday so it was good to get a lot of guys some work."
Catawba finished second in the SAC a season ago in runs scoring by averaging 6.7 runs per contest while hitting .305 as a group. In its first game of the year this season Catawba put 27 runs on the board while scoring five and six its other two games this season.
The Indians earned nine of the 11 first place votes in the SAC's preseason coaches poll after going 33-18 and earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament. It was the eighth regional tournament appearance by Catawba in head coach Jim Gantt's 19 seasons at the helm. Gantt has won seven SAC titles while winning at least 35 games in each of the last 10 seasons.
"Coach [Jim] Gantt is probably one of the best coaches in Division II," Griffin said. "He does a great job teaching. His kids are always well prepared. They play the game the right way. They are going to be excellent in all facets."
The Indians placed five players on the first team preseason All-SAC team, three more than any other team in the conference.
Carson-Newman lost the lone meeting of 2014 as two games were cancelled due to inclement weather. The Indians took the contest 6-0 as the Eagles stranded six men on base while not notching an extra-base hit in the game.
"We have to play our brand of baseball," Griffin said. "We have to put pressure on people and play the game that way. We have to play the game to win, not tentative and playing not to lose. I think that's a big part of it. I think it's more mental than it is physical. I think if we play with passion and with the idea that we are going to try to win this game I think that helps us out."
The Indians hold a 46-31 all-time advantage in the series that includes an eight-game winning streak at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex dating back to a 3-2 victory for the Eagles on February 24, 2008. A sixth-inning home run by Derek Long gave the Eagles the lead for good in the game as Brett Hontz went the distance while punching out 10 batters to earn the victory.
Each game this weekend will be broadcast in high definition on cneagles.com/live with pregame coverage beginning 10 minute prior to the first pitch on the Eagle Sports Network.
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