VIDEO: Tom Griffin Interview

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – No. 21 Carson-Newman dropped a midweek contest to [RV] Young Harris on the road to end a five-game road trip.

Carson-Newman (12-3) entered the contest with Young Harris (11-4) having a shiny new number next to its name as the Eagles were announced to be ranked 21^st in the latest NCBWA poll that came out on Wednesday afternoon. Young Harris similarly was receiving votes for the first time this season and used a fast start to take down the Eagles, 10-4.

"If you're going to get an at-large bid you have to win some midweek games, on the road, it's especially crucial if you can do that, and obviously [Young Harris] is a really good club," Carson-Newman baseball head coach Tom Griffin said. "We didn't play well. We were playing catch-up against a really good club and that's going to be hard to do."

Carson-Newman managed to chip away at what was once an eight-run lead into as close as five later in the contest.

The Mountain Lions came out swinging a hot bat in the first two innings as Luke Hatcher doubled two batters in and came into score when Jeremy Begora traded places with him in a double of his own.

Hatcher would have a career day going 3-for-3 at the dish with two walks including a second-inning three-run blast to left center that traveled nearly 400 feet off of starting pitcher Christian Henderson who took the losing decision.

The Eagles couldn't truly look to one pitcher to rely on as outside of Henderson who went two complete frames, no other C-N pitcher lasted more than a single inning. Carson-Newman used 11 pitchers in the ballgame including Evan Celuch (Bel Air, Md.) who made his first collegiate appearance on the mound, he faced one batter recording a strikeout.

The Mountain Lions added three more in the fourth off a sac fly and two RBI single from Begora to balloon the lead to eight, the largest of the game for YH.

C-N would finally break through in the fifth when Trey Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y.) blooped a double into left centerfield scoring Seth Benner (Morgantown, Ind.) who had previously gotten aboard with a one-out single.

YH earned the run back in the bottom of the fifth but the Eagles would continue to chip away with a Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) sacrifice fly and Benner RBI single to complete his two-hit day as the lone Eagle with multiple base hits.

The Eagles would get as close as five runs in the seventh inning when Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) singled off the Mountain Lions' pitcher's ankle where it was then muffed by the first baseman Begora charging on to make a play. Amid all the chaos, Ryan Jenkins (Winter Haven, Fla.) crossed the plate to score C-N's fourth and final run of the game.

Young Harris starting pitcher Zach Hart earned the win by throwing three innings of one-hit baseball, striking out two.

The Eagles finish up an eight-day, five-game road stretch where they went 2-3, earning the lone wins in Saturday's doubleheader against Newberry.

Carson-Newman returns home on Friday, February 28 against Lincoln Memorial to kick off a three-game conference series.

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