Galvanized Eagles prepare for series with Cobras
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After 13 days away from the friendly confines, Carson-Newman returns to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex in South Atlantic Conference action against Coker starting with games on Saturday, a doubleheader, and Sunday starting at noon.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 0 |
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0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | X | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Final (11) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After 13 days away from the friendly confines, Carson-Newman returns to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex in South Atlantic Conference action against Coker starting with games on Saturday, a doubleheader, and Sunday starting at noon.
At the plate, the team's overall approach is starting to shine as the club has won 24 times over the last three games after walking four or fewer times in 16 of the first 22 games of the year. Couple a renewed patience with 10-plus hits in 13 of 25 games and the Eagles have increased their potency.
Over the last 10 games, the team has clubbed 11 home runs and piled up 28 extra-base hits to pump up the slugging percentage to .470 for the campaign, good for third in the conference. For 2022, the Orange and Blue are ninth in the country in total hits ranking in the top 35 of homers and doubles.
Carson-Newman (15-10, 2-3) has leaned heavily on the bullpen of late with no starting working into the fifth inning since March 5. Since that point, the relievers have tallied a 4.78 ERA fanning 29 batters in 26 1/3 innings while allowing just three of 16 inherited runners to score. Overall the Eagles have had a starter go at least five innings eight times through 25 outings.
The two programs collide after 20 meetings since the series inception in 2014 as C-N leads the all-time series 15-5 with seven triumphs in nine tries at Mossy Creek. The Eagles have won five of the six series with the lone exception coming in the first set when the Cobras took two out of three.
Last year against Coker (7-18, 3-3), the pitching was almost untouchable giving up four earned runs in 30 1/3 innings holding the club to a .230 batting average in a series where the Eagles won three of four. Brayden Coe (Bridgeville, Pa.), Matt Coles (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Matt Bradley (Talbott, Tenn.) worked a combined 21 innings and did not surrender an earned run fanning 20 batters with four walks.
C-N's hitters showcased their versatility with 10 extra-base hits and five stolen bases with Gunnar Ricketts (Hixson, Tenn.) leading the charge going 7-for-14 with three RBIs. Matt Parkinson (Whitesboro, N.Y.) and Zach Boze (Gallatin, Tenn.) each drove in four runs with the latter hitting two roundtrippers.
This season has been up and down for the snakes with losing streaks of six and three of four including the recent stretch while holding a four-game winning streak to close out February. The unit has lost eight of its last nine games with the exception coming on March 8, a 4-3, 11-inning triumph over Belmont Abbey. During the eight losses, the team is being outscored 82-26.
While Coker is 6-4 at home, the team has won once in 15 tries on the road, an 11-5 victory at Erskine on March 5 losing seven straight, the second-longest in the league behind Limestone's 22-game skid. In road games, the team is being outscored 148-63. The hitting numbers take slight dip but it's the pitching that has been an issue as the team's ERA doubles on the road to the tune of a 9.55 clip striking out 93 and walking 90 in 114 innings.
For the year, the team is walking more than six batters per nine innings and giving up almost a dozen hits per game. Foes have posted at least 10 hits 13 times including a 24-hit outburst in an 18-4 loss at USC Aiken on Tuesday. Of the 11 pitchers to throw at least 10 innings, only two have a 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio or better, one at 10 1/3 innings and one at an even 10.
In the batter's box, the team ranks ninth with a .260 batting average and 12th with a .346 on-base percentage. While the hurlers have allowed 26 home runs, the hitters have only four including just one over the last 14 games. It was a dramatic one though as Reilly Hall tied the game against the Crusaders with a two-out blast to right in the bottom of the ninth to set the stage for the walk-off win on March 8.
Phill Griffor leads the club at the plate hitting .406, good for eighth in the league driving in 25 runs, a mark that is seventh. He has driven in a run in 14 of 25 games and is 10-for-19 over his last four games with three doubles and four RBIs. He has either knocked in or scored 41 of the team's 99 runs. Last year against C-N he went 2-for-15.
All three games this weekend will air on the Eagle Sports Network in both audio and video formats by visiting cneagles.com/live for the links to the format of your choosing.
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