JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – At 0-6 in South Atlantic Conference road games, Carson-Newman seeks its first league victory away from home in 2017 with a weekend series at Lincoln Memorial that is slated to open on Friday at 4 p.m. before wrapping up with a twin-bill on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
Despite sweeps at Catawba and Newberry, the Eagles will enter the weekend having won nine of their last 10 games including five of their last six in conference play.
"Winning has a way breeding confidence," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "It could easily have gone the other way which it did early in the year. It was frustration because we were making errors at the wrong time. We are still making errors but they aren't costing us as much. It's all about timing. I think that has helped us to be where we are at right now."
Friday night's affair will be the 60th time the two clubs tangle on the diamond as the Eagles hold a narrow 31-28 advantage in the series since 1990 despite losing four straight outings since a 6-3 win on March 1, 2014.
The Railsplitters have won four consecutive three-game series going 9-3 in regular season outings in that stretch. Carson-Newman last took a series against Lincoln Memorial 2011 despite losing the middle game of the weekend 20-3. Overall the Railsplitters outscored the Eagles 37-23 over 25 innings of play.
Since Lincoln Memorial (19-16, 10-5) joined the SAC in 2007, Carson-Newman (19-17, 7-8) has won just one road series in four tries registering a 5-7 record in that stretch despite holding a 16-13 all-time lead in Harrogate.
C-N is looking for its first road win in conference play in 2017 after sweeping Tusculum on the road in the final series of 2016. The Eagles are posting just 4.2 runs per game in SAC road games this year while allowing 8.5.
At the plate in those road games C-N is hitting at a .262 (50-for-191) clip while the pitching staff is walking five men per game and opponents are hitting .356 (67-for-188) over that six-game sample size.
Lincoln Memorial and Wingate tied for fifth in the preseason coaches' poll compiling 74 points apiece. The Railsplitters return first-team All-SAC pitcher Ethan Elliot, a sophomore, and tout three preseason all-league players.
The Railsplitters enter this weekend having won three series in-a-row in league play toppling Tusculum and Catawba with two wins each and sweeping Lenoir-Rhyne. The team started the season 1-6 and is 18-10 since Feb. 18.
"Offensively they are always very good," Griffin said. "Coach Sziksai has a great approach and philosophy to hitting. I think offensively they are going to be really strong with some veteran presence. That starting rotation has done really well. It's a tough-minded group that is very good at home. Just like anything else we know who the opponent is and what they have. Bottom line is we have to do what we do really well."
Only 16 teams in the nation have scored more runs in 2017 than the 276 LMU has plated this season as the unit posts slightly under eight per game as it expands to 10 in SAC games. The 'Splitters are eighth in Division II in doubles (78), 16th in walks (154), 20th in home runs (38) and 45th in on-base percentage (.402).
Preseason second-team All-SAC outfielder Mason Ewers is eighth in the league in hits in 2017 with 48 while registering seven long balls and ranking 22nd in the nation with 39 RBIs. Logan Augustine has is fifth in the country in walks having received 30 free passes on the year while his nine bombs are third in the SAC.
The pitching staff has locked down in conference play with an ERA of 4.17, one run less than the overall tally this year. LMU is eighth in the conference in hits allowed per nine innings with 11 per night.
Brandon Jean is 4-1 in league action this year having picked up the win in four straight starts working at least 6 1/3 innings over that stretch. The righty has fanned 23 in 29 innings with a 3.72 ERA over the last four games.
Elliot has an ERA of 5.72 in league action, nearly two runs higher than nonconference outings, but the lefty is 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 26 punch outs in 26 innings at home.
The Eagle Sports Network will be on hand for the entire weekend of action bringing the audio stream available on cneagles.com/live starting 15 minutes prior to the first pitch of each game of the series.
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