C-N Game Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (10-0, 3-0 SAC) takes its undefeated record and the longest active winning streak in the country on the road tomorrow afternoon as it visits Lee (5-5, 0-3 GSC) for a non-conference contest at 3:00 p.m.

After a series sweep to begin conference play over the weekend, Carson-Newman baseball is off to its best start in the program's modern history, starting the 2025 season 10-0. Prior to this season, the best start was a 7-0 start during 2020. The current ten-game winning streak is the longest active winning streak in DII and is C-N's longest winning streak since winning 11 straight games in 2016 from Feb 20 to Mar 8 of that season. That is the longest winning streak under head coach Tom Griffin and the current ten-game streak is the second-longest.

The longest winning streak in program history is 15, achieved by Gary Rundles' 1993 team that won the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the NAIA World Series.

The Eagles are on this winning streak because of its success in all phases of the game.

Three weeks into the baseball season, Carson-Newman has one of the best offensive teams in DII. Griffin's group ranks top ten nationally in on-base percentage at .483, fourth in doubles (31), fifth in team batting average (.357). The Eagles offense is averaging ten runs per contest, 12th best nationally. Four different hitters have at least 10 RBI this season led by Logan Floyd's 16 RBI. He matched his career high with five in the series finale versus E&H.

Under the direction of first-year pitching coach Jason White and fourth-year assistant coach James Sofield, Carson-Newman's arms have been terrific and have guided the Eagles to a pair of shutouts through the first 10 games. The pitching staff has held opponents to three runs or less in six of the 10 contests this season. C-N had just five games last season holding opponents to two runs or less, it's already accomplished that this season. Four different pitchers have tossed multiple innings and not allowed a run this season. The pitching staff has a SAC-best 2.96 ERA and is fourth nationally with 1.04 WHIP. C-N's 3.59 strikeout to walk ratio is eighth best in the country as well.

Carson-Newman has lost its last four matchups against Lee and trails the all-time series 13-16. After winning four of the first five games in Cleveland in 27-year series, the Eagles have lost seven of their last eight road games against the Flames.

In a strong Gulf South Conference, Lee was picked to finish second, receiving two first-place votes. Head coach Mark Brew and the Flames are having to replace a quality chunk of their offense from 2024. All four hitters that hit above .300, combined for 49 home runs, 222 RBI and 234 runs scored have graduated.

Lee has started 2025 with a 5-5 record. After losing two out of three in the opening weekend, the Flames responded by winning four consecutive games including a 5-1 midweek win over Lincoln Memorial on Feb 5. This past weekend, the Flames hit the road for the first time and were swept by Delta State in a three-game set. Lee did not score in the first two games of the series and was outscored 17-5.

Four Flames hitters are hitting above .300 at the start of the year. Isaiah French is the top hitter with a .394 batting average while Luke Collier has a team-high 14 hits and eight RBI. When Lee gets on base, it has shown to be dangerous. It has 22 stolen bases in ten games with four players having at least three.

Mark Brew's pitching staff has posted a team earned run average of 7.37 through ten games but has limited four opponents to three runs or less. They have been sharp defensively with a .986 fielding percentage, 13th best nationally at the start of the season.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. There will be a free audio stream available courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network on cneagles.com/live.