April 16, 2008

Senior Langdon Potts describes it as one of the most memorable days in Carson-Newman baseball history.

The Eagles came out of the loser's bracket last year in the South Atlantic Conference tournament to win three games on the final day -including two over heavily favored Tusculum - and bring home the school's first title since splitting with Elon in 1997 when the championship game was rained out.

Carson-Newman will hope for an encore performance this weekend as the 2008 Food Lion SAC Baseball Tournament will be held in Hickory, North Carolina.

The Eagles are the No. 2 seed in the event, and will host fifth-seeded Newberry this afternoon at 3:45 p.m. "I definitely think this is the best team we have brought into the postseason out of the four years that I've been here," said Potts, a former standout at nearby Jefferson County High School.

"We have a good team chemistry and have all bought into the system. It seems like we have been clicking all year and look to continue it this weekend."

Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin believes that this year's team compares favorably to the one that made a magical run to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2007.

"I would say, just by the way the season has went, that this team is pretty similar (to last years)," Griffin explained. "We are a scrappy bunch. These kids have a good energy level and I like the chemistry."

"However, the situation is somewhat different for the Eagles than it was entering postseason play a year ago. Last season, they needed the automatic bid that came with winning the SAC title in order to make the national tournament."

Griffin believes that might not be the case this year.

"This conference tournament will really decide who goes to the (NCAA) regionals from the SAC."

"Right now there are three teams that have a chance for a bid, and thats us, Catawba and Tusculum. Whoever wins gets the automatic bid. Whoever finishes second will probably get an at-large bid, though."

The Eagles finished one game back of Catawba in the loss column of the final regular season standings, though Carson-Newman won two of three games from the Indians in their series.

Griffin says Catawba - winners of seven straight conference games - is red hot right now, but the Eagles have the confidence from knowing they can beat the tournaments top seed.

"Anytime you walk into a tournament and the number one seed is someone you have beaten, that gives you an edge of confidence," said junior outfielder Tyler Wynn, who is hitting .336 for the Eagles this season.

Wynn knows, however, that the Eagles cant afford to look ahead past their first-round game. Newberry dealt C-N a 1-0 loss back on March 8.

"Rather than focusing on Catawba, we just have to go out and play one game at a time," Wynn added.

Carson-Newman compiled a 36-14 overall record in the regular season, and has won 12 of its last 14 games.

Griffin said the one of the major keys to the successful season came early in the conference schedule, when the Eagles lost a series to Lincoln Memorial, which ended up finishing last in the final league standings.

"We had kind of a come-together meeting after that," Griffin remembered. "It was our first conference series and we made a bunch of errors, mental mistakes...we just played very poorly."

"I thought after that, we played with much more confidence. We played with more of the type of style that we want, as far as not letting one mistake turn into two or three."

After having to replace many key components of his pitching staff from a year ago, Griffin found a reliable ace in senior Brett Hontz this season.

The right-hander leads the SAC in wins with a 9-1 record, and ranks second in opponents batting average at .226. His earned run average is currently 1.99.

"We feel confident anytime Hontz is on the mound," Griffin noted.

After that, the Carson-Newman pitching staff has been by committee, and Griffin says that will most likely be the case again this weekend.

"We will probably use several guys and piece things together," he explained. "We've had several guys start this year, but that's our biggest question mark - who's going to be our number two and three pitchers."

Offensively, there are fewer areas of concern for the Eagles as ten batters currently are hitting over .300 for the season.

Senior Nick Achberger leads the way with a .404 average, and paces the team in seven major offensive categories.

Entering the post season, the team as a whole is playing very well, said Achberger. When someone slacks, you will always have another guy to pick him up.

Achberger said that he has been pleasantly surprised with how his final year in Mossy Creek has gone thus far, but hopes to accomplish a lot more before the season is over.

"This team has done many things that I did not think were possible. We have many different tools and many different types of players," he pointed out.

"(We) hope to make another run to the NCAA Tournament and put on a better showing there."

Potts believes the Eagles have both the talent and mentality to do just that.

"I think we have great confidence going into the (postseason)," he said. "I think our confidence comes from the way we practice and prepare ourselves, rather than how the season has gone thus far."

"We practice with great focus and it has carried over to our games. Other teams dont like to play us because of how much energy and aggressiveness we bring each day."

The Eagles realize, however, that in postseason baseball, anything can happen, and that any team is capable of pulling off a run to the championship like Carson-Newman did a year ago.

"Its all about when a team gets hot," said Wynn. "Last year, we got hot at the tournament. We can only hope that this year will be the same."

(Story courtesy of Darren Reese/Standard Banner Sports)

Tournament schedule

The winner of the Carson-Newman/Newberry game will play the winner of No. 3 Tusculum/No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne Friday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play the loser will play the loser of No. 1 Catawba/No. 6 Wingate.