SAC pins C-N to finish fourth in preseason poll
ROCK HILL, S.C. – As baseball season inches closer and closer, the South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason coaches’ poll Monday showing Carson-Newman predicted to finish fourth, two slots higher than the 2020 poll.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – As baseball season inches closer and closer, the South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason coaches' poll Monday showing Carson-Newman predicted to finish fourth, two slots higher than the 2020 poll.
"Like everyone else we have been fortunate weather-wise," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "The weather has allowed us to get scrimmages in. Can we get them game ready with their decision making, the speed of the game? We haven't really done a lot of the team defense, bunting. If we can get out and play and see live pitching, let's try to do that as much as we can. The turf infield has helped out tremendously."
In 2020, the league was limited to nine conference contests as the Eagles were fourth when the coronavirus shut down the season. C-N sat at 15-10 overall and 5-4 in SAC play winning five of its final eight efforts. Griffin's group has finished in the top five of the league standings in four of the last five years.
The Orange and Blue have an experienced unit returning to the fold this season with six regulars back in the lineup, both starting pitchers and half of its late-inning hurlers. Preseason all-conference selections Tyler Thompson (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Jordan Griffin (Ellerslie, Ga.) anchor a deep outfield. Thompson has been one of the top 10 hitters in the country in each of the last two year after slashing .379/.422/.583 as a junior.
"We have some depth," Griffin said. "We still have some questions as far as the infield in the middle infield and corner positions looking for a guy or two to solidify that in case of injuries, in case of Covid. I like our catching depth. I think we have quality catchers that have a different skillset that they bring. In the outfield, we are returning quite a few guys. The experience factor is really important."
On the rubber, Matt Bradley (Talbott, Tenn.) will lead the starting rotation with nearly 120 innings pitched under his belt fanning 131 batters and posting a career ERA of 4.53. His high school teammate, Tyler Shaver (Dandridge, Tenn.) paces the bullpen after leading the SAC in three categories. Eight of his 11 outings of the year netted a scoreless effort finishing the season with a scoreless innings streak of 15 2/3 innings in his last three games.
"We have some guys that have put in innings in this league," Griffin said. "We have some new guys, freshman and transfers. Bottom line we tell them 'you are on a mound with a baseball, you are competing against yourself. You are in control'. You try to simplify it to they are trying to be the best version of themselves and they are throwing the ball to the catcher. I believe we have some depth. The big question mark is the inexperience because they are freshman or transfers."
The big pieces to the puzzle include Mike Wroth, who led the crew with seven homers last year from his first base position and power-throwing left-hander Nick Adkins. The southpaw limited foes to a .235 batting average against with 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.
Catawba is selected to the regular-season title having sealed the deal in six of the last seven regular campaigns advancing to the College World Series in 2019. Last year the Indians had one of their best teams going 19-3 overall with an 8-1 mark against the conference. Catawba was outscoring opponents 196-84 at the time of the shutdown.
Newberry won the 2019 regular-season title and had another quality unit a year ago with a 7-2 league mark and an 18-6 overall record. The Wolves were predicted to finish second in this year's standings.
Wingate was the only other team to get a first-place vote finishing four points shy of Newberry to slot in third comfortably above the Eagles for a third-place prediction.
Clustered behind C-N was Tusculum, Lenoir-Rhyne and Lincoln Memorial before a drop-off to Anderson and Queens. Mars Hill, Coker, Limestone and UVA Wise round out the 13-team league.
The 2021 campaign begins for C-N on Feb. 6 with a road trip to Limestone for a 1 p.m. first pitch in the first of a four-game set. Every home game can be heard on cneagles.com/live with live video available on the Eagle Sports Network.
|
Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
|
1 |
Catawba (12) |
156 |
|
2 |
Newberry |
141 |
|
3 |
Wingate (1) |
137 |
|
4 |
Carson-Newman |
115 |
|
5 |
Tusculum |
112 |
|
6 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
100 |
|
7 |
Lincoln Memorial |
91 |
|
8 |
Anderson |
72 |
|
9 |
Queens |
71 |
|
10 |
Mars Hill |
52 |
|
11 |
Coker |
46 |
|
12 |
Limestone |
41 |
|
13 |
UVA Wise |
36 |
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