MARS HILL, N.C. – After a week off from South Atlantic Conference play, Carson-Newman hops back into league action for a three-game series at Mars Hill starting on Sunday at noon with a doubleheader before closing out the series on Monday at 1 p.m.
With wins in seven straight road games dating back to last season, the Eagles are tied for the fifth-longest active road winning streak in the nation. Only Angelo State (18), Augustana (9), West Virginia State (9) and West Texas A&M (8) have long spans. No team in the SAC has a streak of at least two games entering the weekend.
This weekend is the 96th meeting between the two programs with the Eagles leading the overall series 61-33. Last year there was no regular-season series with Carson-Newman winning in the single elimination portion of the SAC Baseball Tournament 4-0.
Brayden Coe became the first Carson-Newman pitcher to hurl a nine-inning shutout in six years yielding three hits, one walk and one hit batter on the day fanning nine to become the first C-N hurler since Vince Apicella on April 28, 2015, 268 games and 2,190 days ago, to fire a complete game, nine-inning shutout. The Bridgeville, Pa. native allowed only one man to reach scoring position stranding Austin Treadway in the third.
Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) led the offense going 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) added a pair of knocks as the Orange and Blue finished with five overall.
In 2021, the teams were slated to play three times but only played once due to weather and rescheduled games. The Orange and Blue's lineup came alive winning 11-1 in run-rule fashion, the fifth time in the last six affairs C-N has posted double digits against the Lions posting 11 runs contest on Feb. 12.
Coach Tom Griffin's team has won each of the last two series played taking two of three in 2020 and taking both affairs in 2019. C-N has a 27-14 record in games played in the Tar Heel State.
After opening the season 2-8, the Lions have won eight of their last 11 games while going 7-1 at home on the year. Mars Hill (10-11, 4-2) has rattled off three straight wins beating UVA Wise and King by a combined 31-8 over that frame putting itself in a tie for fourth on the conference table.
In eight home outings, the team is hitting .344 and is averaging 10 runs per game compared to a .236 clip on the road and six runs per game in road contests. On the mound, the team sports an ERA that is over two runs fewer and is giving up less than a hit per inning pitched.
Overall for the year, the Lions are posting the highest walks per nine innings mark in the conference allowing a free pass 6.39 times per nine innings while giving up over 10 hits per game, ranking 10th.
From an offensive standpoint, the unit is in the top four in the SAC in nearly every category with the exception of batting average where the club is eighth hitting .277. It makes up for that by posting a .395 on-base percentage.
Scottie Lee and Zach Weaver are one of the better duos at the dish combining for nine homers and 43 RBIs. Tyler Lala is third in the league with seven homers as he hit six of those during an eight-game sequence in February.
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