WASHINGTON, Pa. – Looking for its first road win of the year, Carson-Newman wraps up its road swing with a visit to California (Pa.) for a three-game series starting on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader and a single game on Sunday at noon.
The Eagles will be seeking some consistent offense averaging fewer than four runs per game through the first seven road affairs of the year posting a team batting average of .237. Only three players have driven in multiple runs and four players have had at least 20 at bats hitting below .200. The team is also 7-for-14 in stolen base attempts.
On the mound, the pitching staff has been respectable yielding a .271 batting average against for the year but it has been plagued by big innings giving up multiple runs in nine of the last 28 road frames on the bump. Hurlers have allowed double-digit hits in three of the last four road games.
While this weekend will be the first meeting between the two programs, Carson-Newman (5-7) has faced one club from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference going 4-1 against Bloomsburg in games in 2007 and 2011. The Eagles split the two meetings in 2011 falling 2-1 before winning 4-3 on March 8. Even Patterson drove in a pair guiding a comeback from 2-0 down in the fourth frame.
For a program that started in 1960, California (3-0) has had three coaches in the history of the program with Mitch Bailey (20), Chuck Gismondi (17) and Mike Conte (26) all spending at least 17 years in the dugout. Conte is in his 27th year having racked up over 700 career wins. The unit has reached the NCAA Tournament five times most recently in 2010.
Of the famous alums from the school, Eric Kush, former Rams' offensive lineman known for his stringers in 2016 Hard Knocks, played for the Vulcans and Shaka Smart, current Marquette basketball coach, spent three years as an assistant coach in his first stop on the bench that has led to over 300 career wins.
On the baseball field, a handful of players reached the big leagues led by Bruce Dal Canton who appeared in over 300 games over 10 seasons with four organizations. He became a coach in the Atlanta Braves organization where he spent three decades guiding 30 future Major League Baseball pitchers.
After going 31-17 overall last season, the Vulcans finished fourth in the PSAC West standings losing 10-0 to No. 21 Millersville in the opening round of the tournament. The club has won at least 25 games in four straight years since going 20-24 in 2017.
The team plays at Wild Things Park home to the Washington Wild Things, a member of the Frontier League since moving from Canton in 2002. The field is an all-turf playing surface that seats 3,200 fans.
In the preseason conference poll, the Vulcans were selected to finish sixth in the West Division with Seton Hill getting four first-place votes and sitting atop the standings. The group returns five regulars in the field and eight pitchers that threw at least 15 innings in 2022.
With three games under its belt, Cal has put up at least 12 runs in each of the first three games of the year coasting to a 3-0 start to the year. Outscoring foes 48-18, nine different players have driven in at least two runs led by 10 from Ryan Callahan. The sophomore posted multiple RBIs in every game homering in the first two contests.
On the mound, the pitching staff as 24 strikeouts but has walked 22 in the first 27 innings of the year. The team has only allowed five extra-base hits. Roman Gill fanned seven batters in his first outing but gave up six earned runs as all four pitchers to log multiple innings have walked at least two batters.
Fans can follow along with all of the action this weekend by following @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest links and information regarding the Eagles.
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