May 14, 2008

TAMPA, FL - The Carson-Newman baseball team is driving roughly 700 miles to play an opponent that resides just 45 minutes from Jefferson City. The Eagles will begin their 2008 NCAA Division II Tournament stay tomorrow afternoon with an opening round game against rival Tusculum. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the South Regional at the University of Tampa Baseball Stadium.

"We aren't going to do anything different," Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin said about the prospect of facing Tusculum for a fifth time this season.

"We can't invent a new pitch, or come up with a few more power hitters. We are just going to go out and play our game."

Tusculum has won three of the four meetings between the two schools this season, including a 4-1 victory back on April 18 in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

Today's game will be the first for either school in almost three weeks.

"It's been tough not having games and trying to keep the competitiveness going," Griffin admitted. "Compared to last year, though, this year was tremendous."

"I think our energy has been good, practices were crisp, and our inter-squads were well played. So, despite not having games, we have been pleased with the efforts."

Carson-Newman took the first game of the season-series with Tusculum back in March, riding a 13-strikeout effort from starting pitcher Brett Hontz. The Pioneers have won the last three over the Eagles.

Hontz will look to carry C-N to victory again today, despite battling tenderness in his elbow.

"I think his adrenaline will carry him through," Griffin said.

Hontz was named the 2008 South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year after compiling an 11-1 record and a 2.08 earned run average.

"He hasn't pitched in a while other than in inter-squad," Griffin added. "If he locates well, we have a good chance. If he doesn't, then that's a problem."

Carson-Newman, the fifth-seed in the region, is currently 41-16 overall and finished second in the regular season SAC standings behind Catawba.

Tusculum won the SAC Tournament championship over Catawba and brings in a 40-13 mark.

The top seed in the region, Tampa, has won two consecutive NCAA Division II national championships. The Spartans will take on sixth-seeded Stillman at 11 a.m. today.

No. 3 seed Catawba will play Florida Tech following the Carson-Newman/Tusculum game.

It marks the first time in history that the SAC has had three teams make the NCAA Tournament field.

"I was extremely surprised," said Griffin.

"There's always been a huge bias among the Florida schools (Sunshine State Conference), and they pushed really hard to get a third team in."

"They feel their conference is much better than ours, so I was glad to see the NCAA stay with what the committee sent them."

Tampa and Florida Tech are out of the SSC, while Stillman made the field as the champion out of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.