JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Despite nearly non-stop rain over the last week in East Tennessee, Carson-Newman is ready to tee it up against a pair of Tennessee programs in midweek action. The Eagles take on King at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and Tusculum on Wednesday at 1 p.m. from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
Off to its best start in the program's modern history, Carson-Newman (7-0) is one of five undefeated teams in the Southeast Region joined by fellow South Atlantic Conference program Newberry with seven victories. In the Peach Belt, Georgia College leads the way with a 7-0 mark while North Georgia and USC Aiken are 6-0. The latter open conference play against each other on Friday.
"The guys on the mound have given us good performances," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "There are some veterans out there which always helps. When you start winning, it's a good vibe obviously versus if you are 2-5 or 3-6. You have to keep building on that, your confidence level. Winning takes care of a lot of things and right now we are in a good position."
Dating back to the end of the 2019 season, the Eagles have won 16 consecutive regular-season games since last losing. C-N dropped game two of the series to ninth-ranked Newberry at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex on April 6, 10-5.
King (3-3) is the opponent for the 30th time in the history of the two programs with C-N holding a 20-9 overall lead and an 11-5 mark in games played inside of the friendly confines. The Eagles have won each of the last two and seven of the previous nine clashes.
Griffin's group won 9-5 at home and 12-10 on the road in a pair of contests in 2019 over the Tornado. At the dish, C-N struck out just nine times with Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) leading the way with four hits and a homer. Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) drove in four. On the rubber, the hurlers posted 17 punch outs but walked 10. Tyler Shaver (Dandridge, Tenn.) earned the win on Valentine's Day fanning five over 5 1/3 frames.
After finishing 2019 14-27 overall and 7-17 in Conference Carolinas, the Tornado were predicted for an eight-place finish to start the season. Coach Blaine Brown needs to replace both of his all-conference picks.
Tony Valdes hit .348 posting a .484 on-base percentage ending his career on a 10-game hitting streak. George Helbig went 5-2 on the mound with a 3.80 ERA hurling a pair of complete games.
The Tornado went 4-15 in road affairs last season and opened the 2020 campaign at Anderson dropping the first two games of the year before salvaging the final effort 13-7. Over the weekend, the club took two out of three games again NAIA foe Lindsey Wilson.
Out of the gates, Junior Renwick has posted a .455 batting average, good for fourth in his conference. That number is aided by the final two games of the Anderson series where he went 7-for-9 with five doubles, a triple, three RBIs and five runs scored. He has hit safely in five of the six games.
Austin Meyer leads the team with seven RBIs producing that total in the first four games of the year. He hit a pair of home runs in the season opener and has reached base safely in all six affairs in 2020.
On the mound, coach Brown has used a dozen hurlers with the staff combining for a 5.09 ERA striking out 43 and walking 21 in 46 innings. Keanu Guzman, with a 1.69 ERA, is the top pitcher in relief appearing in two games striking out seven in 5 1/3 but he has walked five and given up five unearned runs.
Wednesday's showdown with Tusculum is a non-conference game and the 98th all-time affair against the Pioneers with the Eagles holding a 51-46 edge and a 22-18 mark in games played at Mossy Creek. The last time's the teams played in a non-conference affair came on Feb. 21, 2017 when the Pioneers won 10-8 at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
Carson-Newman had won five in a row in the series since Tusculum (3-4) sealed a series victory in Jefferson City on March 23, 2019 with a pair of 12-8 wins to cap the series. The Eagles pitching staff walked 18 batters in the series and surrendered 34 hits in 25 innings.
Thompson led the way for the team at the plate with seven hits in 12 at bats clubbing a pair of home runs. C-N stole four bases and hit .306 as a team with Griffin and Malik Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) each driving in three runs.
Tusculum is looking to replace 2019 SAC Pitcher of the Year Charles Hall in a Friday role. Hall was drafted in the 33rd round by the Oakland A's last season after leading the country with 148 strikeouts. C-N won the game that he pitched last season 4-2 despite being fanned 11 times thanks to 6 1/3 strong innings from Greg Valentine.
After starting the year 1-3 in Florida, the Pioneers went back home over the weekend to take two out of three games against Belmont Abbey. At the dish, the team is hitting .242 while the pitching staff has allowed the second-most hits in the league with 66.
Preseason first-team All-SAC pick Daulton Martin has hit safely in six of the seven games this year drawing walks in four. Jaden Steagall, the SAC's initial player of the week, is hitting .458 with a long ball and eight RBIs but is two for his last 12 after opening the year 9-for-12.
Both games will air on cneagles.com/live in video and audio formats with the Eagle Sports Network providing the sights and sounds from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
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