VIDEO: Tom Griffin Interview

ROCK HILL, S.C. – With the start of baseball season knocking on the door, the South Atlantic Conference released its preseason poll Monday placing Carson-Newman sixth, the same position the club wrapped up the 2019 regular season.

The No. 6 prediction is the lowest slot for the Eagles since the team was selected to end the year seventh in the 2016 SAC preseason poll. How did that season end? Carson-Newman swept Tusculum on the road in the final series of the year to finish the campaign second in the SAC regular-season standings and were one of the final three teams standing in the SAC Tournament.

"To finish in the top four for this club like most clubs it's the mental aspect," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "I think that's the thing that we talked about since the beginning of the fall. The upperclassmen, the leaders on the club, set the mental standard on and off the field. I think that's a big part of what this team is. There are a lot of other things that you have to look at as well as far as your pitching, defense and offense. For us, I think if we take care of the mental aspect of things, it gives us a chance to compete every game."

The Orange and Blue finished the 2019 season with a 31-18 overall record and a 12-11 mark in league play that saw the Eagles win their final seven conference outings of the year to solidify a spot in the league tournament. Last season was the sixth time in Griffin's tenure that the club registered 30-plus wins finishing above .500 in SAC play for the third time in the last four years.

While the team loses a pair of all-conference picks in John Sharpe and Ethan Goforth, the Eagles return six regulars to the lineup including a trio of preseason All-SAC picks led by unanimous all-region selection and the SAC's reigning batting champion Tyler Thompson.

Goforth was selected in the 25th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft leaving a vacancy behind the plate, but C-N should be loaded up and down the lineup with 60 percent of the team's RBIs returning in 2020.

"It's tough to lose those two guys," Griffin said. "With Ethan behind the dish, he was able to control our pitching staff. I think that's going to be a spot where we play more than one guy. Offensively we have some depth in the outfield and first base. We have some guys that we can use as pinch hitters. The question mark we are looking for right now is solidifying second base. It's a position that is up for grabs right now with several guys."

There are holes to fill on the rubber entering the season highlighted by the graduation of the program's all-time leader in appearances, Greg Valentine. The right-hander pitched in 92 games and earned second-team All-SAC laurels after posting a 3.64 ERA in 2019.

Looking to fill those shoes will be Matt Bradley (Talbott, Tenn.), Logan Cogburn (Friendsville, Tenn.) and Tyler Shaver (Dandridge, Tenn.) in the rotation and Nick Adkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Hunter Long (Powell, Tenn.) in the bullpen.

"We are going to have a lot of new faces," Griffin said. "Guys that have not pitched before are going to have to come in and see what they can do. We don't have a lot of experience in our bullpen. I think we have experience with our starting guys but the bullpen lacks experience. Each game they go out they are going to be learning what they can or can't do. It's one thing to do it in a bullpen, but there is another is another when you do it against someone else. The more times we can get them out there to get their feet wet the better I think it helps us in the long run."

After seeing its run of six straight regular-season titles end last season, Catawba, picked first in 2020, went on to win the SAC Tournament and the region reaching the Division II College World Series. The Indians edged out Newberry by four points in the poll.

Newberry won the regular-season title last season for the first time in program history going 41-16 overall and 21-3 in league play. The postseason was unkind to the Wolves who lost twice to Catawba in the SAC Tournament and failed to win a game in the regional losing 5-1 to sixth-seeded Young Harris and 7-0 to Catawba.

Lincoln Memorial was picked third in the poll but has to replace to the reigning ABCA Division II National Pitcher of the Year, Ethan Elliott. The southpaw was a tenth round pick in the MLB draft after setting school career records in career ERA (3.01), wins (37), starts (54), innings pitched (358) and strikeouts (402).

Wingate and Tusculum were separated by three points for the fourth spot after having two of the better pitching staffs in the league in 2019.

Behind Carson-Newman in the rankings are Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson before Coker, Queens, Mars Hill and UVa-Wise, in its first season in the league, round out the 12-team conference preseason poll.

The 2020 campaign begins for C-N on Jan. 31 with a road trip to Limestone for a 4 p.m. first pitch in the first of a four-game set. Every game can be heard on cneagles.com/live with live video available for home games on the Eagle Sports Network.

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