JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Putting a bow on the Carson-Newman baseball position previews prior to the 2022 season, this is the final part of a three-part series looking at the Eagles focuses on the infeld with Micah Genter.
Carson-Newman's infield brings back starters at every position collectively representing 342 career starts across the diamond with six players having started a game in their careers. The returning quartet cranked 11 home runs, drove in 85 runs and scored 82 times.
"I've been focusing more on getting strong and more agile," Genter said. "It's stuff that can help the team when I'm hitting or on defense. Everybody around me, the entire infield, we all have a lot of experience. We know each other and we know what to expect. That helps us prepare."
Genter will be one of the most experienced players in the conference posting 151 starts in his first four years of his career posting a .353 on-base percentage having fanned only 36 times in 154 career games and 443 at bats. He matched a career high with 12 extra-base hits a year ago and had nine multi-hit contests. The Jasper, Tenn. native is steady at shortstop with a career fielding percentage of .942 turning 76 double plays.
To his right will be Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) who has started all 68 games of his collegiate career taking a step forward at the plate with five home runs and 16 total extra-base hits driving in 29 runs, tied for second on the team. He had 10 multi-hit outings and drove in a season-high five runs going 2-for-5 with a long ball at Limestone on Feb. 5.
"Me and him are really good friends," Genter said. "We talk every day. That really helps because we know each other's strengths and weaknesses. It helps play hand in hand where he knows that maybe a ball just out of his reach, I can get to. I trust him to get to the balls that he needs to get to."
Up the middle, Andrew Carpenter (Morristown, Tenn.) and Bryce Hanley (Greenback, Tenn.) played almost every inning at second base for the team last year. Carpenter tallied a .375 on-base percentage with three bombs and 14 RBIs. He registered six multi-hit games and hit roundtrippers in both games of a twin-bill against UVA Wise on March 6 going 4-for-7 with two homers, six RBIs and three runs scored over the Cavaliers.
Hanley has played in 40 games through two seasons drawing eight walks in 63 plate appearances. His lone multi-hit game of his sophomore year came on March 5 against UVA Wise going 2-for-3. He added an RBI double in the SAC Tournament against Newberry on April 26.
"The three of us are really close," Genter said. "Every day at practice we sit around together and take a bunch of ground balls together. Knowing each other and the relationship we have really helps with everything."
At first base, Kilian Daughtry (Simpsonville, Tenn.) will play most of the time after Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) filled in while the former was on the shelf with an injury in 2021. The senior has played in 118 games hitting .288 for his career with a .376 on-base percentage. He is coming off of a career year that saw him post a .331/.383/.458 slash line hitting three homers with 28 RBIs. He leads the group of returners with 13 multi-hit games and he had a six-game stretch with at least one RBI. His best performance came on April 2 against Lincoln Memorial as he went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in a 9-3 win.
Adding to the depth of the unit, Emery Peterson (Etowah, Tenn.), Sam Astern (Wellington, Fla.), Gardner-Webb transfer Ben Wilcoxson (Dandridge, Tenn.) and Cade Burkey (Knoxville, Tenn.) will see time.
"We were really strong at the end," Genter said. "Knowing that we were right there with Wingate who ended up winning the national championship, we were a couple plays away from being in the same situation. That really helps us train and helps us to see the end goal. The past couple years we were on the outside. Last year we were right there on the door."
Carson-Newman is slated to start the season on Feb. 1 when Milligan comes to town for a 3 p.m. first pitch from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. Broadcast coverage airs on cneagles.com/live with video and audio streams available from the Eagle Sports Network.
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