Fresh 2021 baseball slate on tap for Griffin’s group
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After watching its seasons stop abruptly after 25 games on March 12, Carson-Newman baseball has turned its sights to the full docket of affairs in 2021. Coach Tom Griffin released the schedule for the upcoming year that features solely South Atlantic Conference opponents and 39 games.
2021 FINAL C-N Baseball Game Notes (PDF)
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After watching its seasons stop abruptly after 25 games on March 12, Carson-Newman baseball has turned its sights to the full docket of affairs in 2021. Coach Tom Griffin released the schedule for the upcoming year that features solely South Atlantic Conference opponents and 39 games.
"It's been so long since they played in a game that I don't think it will be any issue at all for them to be mentally ready to play," Griffin said. "I think all fall, the spirit and the enthusiasm these guys had every day training and playing was evident. It was a little bit different because they saw it taken away. We weren't sure when it was going to be shut down here. One, the maturity level of them taking caring of themselves on and off the field concerning Covid. Two, the mindset of take advantage of every day. Don't take anything for granted and learn how to adjust."
Diving into the numbers of the 39-game slate, Carson-Newman will play 21 road games and 18 home affairs with seven contests listed as non-conference outings and 32 league matchups against eight teams. The Eagles are on track to travel 2,428 miles.
There will be no midweek outings during this campaign with the league switching to four-game series played on Saturday and Sunday in doubleheader form with a nine-inning game preceding a seven-inning matchup.
"We chose not to [have midweek games] because of the 40 games," Griffin said. "With what we did the first two weeks some weekend series we are at 39. Midweek it will be important to stay fresh at game speed. How do you keep the guys engaged practicing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and bam, game? The mindset has to be that the midweek scrimmage is a competition. It doesn't matter who we are playing. It doesn't matter if it is a pickup basketball game or whether we are going to play Limestone. The same mindset has to be there. If you can have your guys buy into that and treat it that way then hopefully that will carry itself into the weekend."
In lieu of midweek contests, the Eagles will play two series classified as non-conference contests starting with a four-game road trip to Limestone on Feb. 6-7. The following week, C-N hosts Mars Hill for a doubleheader on Saturday before travelling to the Tar Heel State to conclude a three-game set on Sunday. It begins the longest road trip of the year.
After 12 days off, the Eagles start SAC play on Feb. 27-28 with a road trip to Catawba, a unit that was 19-3 and had outscored its opponents by 112 runs to begin the year.
All told February sees the Orange and Blue play 11 games, nine of which come on the road with the lone home date coming when the Lions come to town on Feb. 13.
Fans get an extended look at the Eagles for the first time in 2021 when UVA Wise comes to town to open March during a month where C-N travels to Newberry and Wingate with a home series against Queens sandwiched in the middle. Note that the Saturday twin bill against Queens starts at 11 a.m.
"We are going to need more pitching depth," Griffin said. "There are some things in place that could possibly effect that. There is a 10-run rule which in the past we didn't have. If you are down 15-1 in the seventh, you save some of your bullpen. There are possibly some things in place this spring that could alleviate some of the pressure of your staff. You have to have a lot of arms. You will need some starters to really go. That fourth game on Sunday will be the tell-tale. That's where you find out what you have depth wise. There are a lot of conferences around the country that have done a four-game set for years."
April opens with the longest homestand of the year as C-N hosts Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum over the first two weekends of the month. The regular season ends on April 17-18 with the longest trip of the year, a 307-mile hike to Coker.
For a sixth year in a row, the SAC Baseball Championship will be played at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. over a five-day period, April 22-26.
The Eagle Sports Network has wall-to-wall coverage of every pitch at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex all season featuring a video stream and exciting commentary by visiting cneagles.com/live for audio and video streams.
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