SAC predicts fifth-place finish for Eagles
ROCK HILL, S.C. – After producing a seventh straight winning season with 28 victories in 2022, Carson-Newman was selected to finish fifth in the 2023 South Atlantic Conference preseason baseball poll released by the league on Tuesday.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – After producing a seventh straight winning season with 28 victories in 2022, Carson-Newman was selected to finish fifth in the 2023 South Atlantic Conference preseason baseball poll released by the league on Tuesday.
"Overall [the chemistry] has been really good," Carson-Newman coach Tom Griffin said. "I think that's been because of our upperclassmen. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of these guys are JUCO or transfers so we have a lot more of them on the hitting side. The pitching side is a lot more returners. There aren't a lot of new faces there. Our leadership has done a good job making sure guys feel welcome."
The Eagles have produced seven straight winning seasons, its longest such streak since registering a string of that length came over a nine-year period from 2002 to 2010. During that time, the Eagles are 214-156 with a pair of 31-win campaigns. Carson-Newman finished seventh in the regular season and advanced to the double-elimination bracket before losing a lead to No. 1 Wingate in the next round.
Griffin's group played 22 contests decided by two or fewer runs a year ago finishing with a 12-11 mark in league action overall, good for a fifth straight season above .500 against SAC programs. The Orange and Blue played nine games against top 25 teams highlighted by a 6-0 blanking of 21st-ranked and eventual SAC Tournament Champion Lenoir-Rhyne on April 15.
Finishing with a 14-6, seven coming in SAC matchups, record in road affairs, the Eagles produced their best season away from Mossy Creek under Griffin with the 14 victories the most by the unit since winning 15 in 2012. Opening the year with a 9-0 road record, the Eagles rattled off wins in 10 straight road affairs since losing 5-4 at Coker on April 18, 2021. It was the fourth-longest active streak in the country behind Angelo State's current 18-game string, West Virginia State's 12 and Central Missouri's 11. It matched the program's record dating back to the start of the yearly records in 1990 when the team rattled off 10 in row from March 21 to April 4, 1993 with a win over Elon, Tusculum, three against Presbyterian, Tennessee Tech and three at Gardner-Webb during the program's 41-15 season that saw the club win a SAC Regular Season and Tournament Title while reaching the NAIA World Series.
Carson-Newman placed a pair of players on the all-conference team in shortstop Micah Genter and pitcher Matt Bradley. Genter, one of the best defensive players in the league during his career, finished second on the team with 19 multi-hit games bringing his career total to 44.
Bradley, a unanimous all-region honoree, recorded one of the strongest seasons in program history on the bump going 8-0 with two complete games and a 2.74 ERA. The right-hander finished 33rd nationally with a 1.08 WHIP walking 2.19 batters per nine innings. Among a list of stellar starts, he hurled a complete game shutout against Lenoir-Rhyne and powered the club to a win over LMU in the SAC Tournament behind a season-high 7 1/3 innings. In 37 career starts, the Eagles were 28-9 when Bradley took the ball.
Despite graduating a big chunk of players from last year's roster, the Eagles return four of their top 10 hitters led by Henry Jackson (Waxhaw, N.C.) who hit .324 with five homers and 35 RBIs pacing the team with 20 multi-hit games. Preseason second-team All-SAC selection Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) torched opposing pitchers in the final two months of the year. After hitting .148 with six RBIs in February, the right-handed hitter hit .342 with nine long balls and 37 RBIs in the final 33 outings.
On the mound, the top three hurlers in terms of innings pitched graduated but the Eagles return Tyler Shaver (Dandridge, Tenn.) who fanned 16 batters in his final 15 2/3 innings and Noah Pridmore (Ootlewah, Tenn.) who posted a 3.86 ERA in his final six appearances. In the bullpen, Jake Wright (Ringgold, Tenn.) and Hunter Harritan (Huntersville, N.C.) anchor the final frames.
Wingate is once again the top pick in the league after winning the regular-season title last year with 12 of the 13 first-place votes. Lenoir-Rhyne is picked second after taking home the tournament crown and Newberry tallied the other first-place vote sitting in third. Catawba is above the Eagles at fourth in poll.
Lincoln Memorial, Anderson, Mars Hill and Tusculum are clustered behind C-N in slots six through nine. Coker, Limestone, UVA Wise and Emory & Henry round out the prognostication.
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.
|
Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
|
1 |
Wingate (12) |
144 |
|
2 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
125 |
|
3 |
Newberry (1) |
123 |
|
4 |
Catawba |
118 |
|
5 |
Carson-Newman |
93 |
|
6 |
Lincoln Memorial |
89 |
|
7 |
Anderson |
68 |
|
8 |
Mars Hill |
66 |
|
9 |
Tusculum |
62 |
|
10 |
Coker |
53 |
|
11 |
Limestone |
37 |
|
12 |
UVA Wise |
22 |
|
13 |
Emory & Henry |
14 |
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