Carson-Newman Baseball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Having won four consecutive games Carson-Newman hits the road to face 2016 NCAA Playoff participant Belmont Abbey Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. looking to extend its winning streak.
"It was a really good weekend," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said following the sweep of UVA-Wise on Saturday. "I'm really proud of the guys and how they responded this week after a tough weekend. That's a testament to our coaching staff and a testament to our senior leadership."
In the first 34 meetings between the two schools in a series that began in 1999, Carson-Newman (4-3) holds a 21-13 advantage while winning 12 of the 21 contests held on Belmont Abbey's (4-4) campus.
The Eagles have won four straight games in the Tar Heel State against the Crusaders with the last setback coming on Feb. 9, 2011 in the second game of a doubleheader when Belmont Abbey prevailed 4-1.
In 2016 the two programs met twice during a twin-bill at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex when the Crusaders were ranked 10th in the nation. C-N won game one 7-3 while dropping the second contest 5-3.
The win in the first game snapped Belmont Abbey's 16-game winning streak while Carson-Newman picked up its first win over a ranked team since April 18, 2013 against 23rd-ranked Catawba. The last win for the Eagles over a top-10 came on Feb. 12, 2013 when C-N topped No. 7 Lander 5-3. The Eagles defeated seven ranked teams in 2013.
The Crusaders ended the Eagles' nine-game nonconference winning streak in the second team handing C-N its first loss in non-league play since Feb. 19 when Northwood blanked the Eagles 6-0.
Tuesday marks the fourth time that the two programs meet with Belmont Abbey ranked. C-N beat the 21st-ranked 10-8 on April 9, 2013 and split last season's doubleheader.
2016 saw Belmont Abbey finish the season 39-16-1 with a 20-6 mark in Conference Carolinas earning the No. 3 seed in NCAA Southeast Regional. The Crusaders toppled Catawba in the first game 6-5 in 12 innings before losing 11-4 to Lander and 7-1 to Tusculum to conclude their campaign.
This season, the group was ranked third in the preseason coaches' poll receiving two first-place votes polling behind the league's top pick Mount Olive and Erskine.
17 players return from last season's group led by first-team All-Conference Carolinas outfielder Nick Beinlich and shortstop Colin Rosenbaum along with a pair of second-team picks in Nick Nunziato and Blake Waldron.
A season ago, the Crusaders were second nationally with 137 doubles and sixth in Division II in walks taken with 266. The team's pitching staff recorded a 4.45 ERA despite ranking 145th in the country with four walks per nine innings.
The 2017 season has seen coach Chris Anderson's squad start the season 4-4 with six home games. Each of the first nine contests on the slate feature South Atlantic Conference foes as Belmont Abbey has two wins over Newberry and a victory each versus Catawba and Tusculum.
Beinlich is off to a big start to his senior season hitting .357 with two home runs, two doubles and four RBIs. Both of his roundtrippers, solo shots, came against Catawba on Feb. 7.
On the rubber, the pitching staff has accumulated a 4.82 ERA striking out 55 batters in 65 1/3 innings pitched while allowing just 24 bases on balls.
The Eagle Sports Network will be on hand at Abbey Yard to handle the audio broadcast on cneagles.com/live. Coverage starts at 2:20 with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to First Pitch" featuring an interview and starting lineups leading up to gametime.
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