Griffin’s group hits the road to face West Georgia
CARROLLTON, Ga. – Travelling for the second straight weekend, Carson-Newman, in the middle of a five-game road trip, visits West Georgia for the first time since 2012 for a three-game series starting on Saturday at 3 p.m. wrapping up with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at noon.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
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2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | X | 13 | 11 | 1 |
CARROLLTON, Ga. – Travelling for the second straight weekend, Carson-Newman, in the middle of a five-game road trip, visits West Georgia for the first time since 2012 for a single game on Sunday at 4 p.m. after rain forced the originial three-game series down to one game. The Eagles will play at Shorter on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before coming back to Mossy Creek.
Through the first six games of the year, the Eagles' starting pitching has allowed 10 earned runs in 36 innings, good for a 2.50 ERA. The entire staff has locked down with runners on base yielding a .246 batting average against despite allowing a .490 on-base percentage to lead-off hitters.
Carson-Newman (2-4) and West Georgia (3-1) have only played four times, all in Carrollton, Ga., since 1990 with the Wolves taking two out of three in a series in 2001. The last meeting came on April 24, 2012 when the Eagles walked away with a 6-1 triumph.
In the meeting 11 years ago, Evan Faithful scattered 10 hits over eight innings of work striking out three without a walk to earn the win. Kyle Koeneman launched a first-inning home run going 2-for-3 with three RBIs in a game where the Eagles mustered five total hits by drew eight walks. A three-run seventh inning helped the visitors pull away to earn the win.
In 2022, the Wolves missed the Gulf South Conference Tournament for the first time since 2017 finishing with a 24-20 overall record going 13-16 in league play. The club was projected to finish ninth in the preseason poll with Delta State and Lee atop of the standings to start the year.
In the history of the program, there have been several players reach the big leagues led by 1974 Atlanta Braves seventh-round pick Rick Camp. The hurler appeared in 414 career games from 1976-85 compiling a career 3.37 ERA. He may best be know for hitting a game-tying home run in the bottom 18th inning of a July 4 16-13, 19-inning loss to the New York Mets. The Braves' organization fired off fireworks at 4 a.m. after a game that lasted six hours and 10 minutes.
Recently, Cade Marlowe, an All-American outfielder in 2019, is currently the No. 21 prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization after tallying 245 hits and setting the school record for at bats (623), runs scored (167), stolen bases (87) during his time in Carrollton. The 25-year-old is projected to reach the show this year after hitting .287 with 23 dingers and 102 RBIs in stops at AA and AAA in 2022.
Outfielder Anthony Calabro was named a preseason all-league selection after hitting .343 with eight homers and 42 RBIs in 2022. He is off to a hot start to the year earning NCBWA Hitter of the Week honors in the South Region after going 8-for-12 with two taters and four RBIs in a three-game series against Augusta.
Overall, nine different players have scored multiple runs with eight driving in multiple runs. Henry Daniels has three multi-hit games to open the campaign and has hit safely in each of the first four outings of the year.
On the rubber, the pitching staff is allowing a .256 batting average against giving up six total extra-base hits striking out 40 in 34 innings. The staff has fanned at least nine in every game so far. Chase Townsend was the Opening Day starting pitcher racking up eight punch outs in 5 1/3 innings giving up just two hits. The Kennesaw State transfer appeared in three games with the Owls in 2022 after making 20 appearances with Georgia Highlands prior to that stop.
Coach Jeff Smith is looking for improvement from his rotation after allowing a .300 batting average against giving up 34 homers. Solidifying the backend of the bullpen to start the year is Mercer transfer Peyton Berry. The right-hander missed 2022 with an injury but has struck out three through four scoreless innings with a save to start the 2023 season.
All three games this weekend are available to listen to for free by visiting cneagles.com/live for the broadcast coverage on the Eagle Sports Network.
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