JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Putting a bow on the Carson-Newman baseball position previews prior to the 2023 season, this is the final part of a three-part series looking at the Eagles focuses on the Infield with Zach Boze.
Out of the position groups, the infield has the biggest holes to fill losing three starters Kilian Daughtry at first base, Andrew Carpenter at second base and Micah Genter at shortstop. That trio combined to play in 465 games for the Eagles and Genter was a second-team All-SAC selection after finishing second on the team with 19 multi-hit games.
"They were great leaders," Boze said. "They really set a plan for me and for all of the other infielders for what we need to do every day. That's helped me try to be a leader to the new guys."
Boze is the lone returner from that unit making 48 starts at third base in 2022 having played in 120 games over the first three seasons posting 17 career dingers. In 2022, the Gallatin, Tenn. native launched a team-high 10 taters driving in 38 runs. He added 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI efforts. In March, Boze hit .357 with five bombs and 21 driven in.
"I think it's just maturity," Boze said. "Learning what my approach needs to be and how it changes. We are talking as leaders and picking their brains and talking to coach [Tom Griffin] about the mental side of hitting."
James Denten (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) will pitch for the Eagles this year but was also one of the top hitters for Kaskaskia College posting a .286 batting average with eight homers and 41 RBIs reaching base at a .391 clip. He finished with 15 multi-hit games tallying one knock in nine of the final 10 affairs of the season and 11 multi-RBI days.
Trey Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y.) transfers to the Eagles from Herkimer after hitting .369 with two homers and 24 RBIs. In two years with the Generals, he stole 40 bases and was caught stealing four times scoring 72 runs in 75 career games. The shortstop had 11 multi-hit games and hit .412 in the final 36 games of the year.
Coming to Mossy Creek from Olney Central, William Gibbs (Harrisburg, Ill.) led the Blue Knights with a .413 batting average scoring 60 runs in 52 games with three homers, 37 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 33 attempts. He finished with 24 multi-hit games ending the year on a five-game hitting streak highlighting his pace on the base paths with 17 steals in as many attempts in March.
Returning to the group, the Eagles bring back Cade Burkey (Knoxville, Tenn.), Emery Peterson (Etowah, Tenn.), Sam Astern (Wellington, Fla.) and Ben Wilcoxon (Dandridge, Tenn.) to add with the incoming freshmen class.
"I think it's a lineup that can put up a lot of crooked numbers," Boze said. "It's a lineup that can bunt, can swing it and manufacture runs in a lot of different ways. Hopefully that translates to a hot start."
The 2023 slate begins on Feb. 1 with Carson-Newman opening the doors to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex for a 3 p.m. first pitch against Mars Hill. Every home game can be heard on cneagles.com/live with live video available on the Eagle Sports Network. Select road games will be available with an audio stream.
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