EAGLES PICKED THIRD IN PRE-SEASON BASEBALL POLL
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Carson-Newman Eagles have been picked to finish third in the 2005 South Atlantic Conference (SAC) baseball race, conference officials announced today.
The Eagles received one first-place vote and a total of 47 points to place third behind Catawba, the defending SAC champion, and Tusculum. The pre-season poll was determined by a vote of the head coaches of the league.
The Eagles had five members on the pre-season All-SAC team which was determined by a vote of the sports information directors of the league. Pitcher
Chad Gillis (Erwin, Tenn.), a First-Team All-Conference performer last year after going 8-2 with 78 strikeouts, was named to the pre-season All-SAC team. Outfielder
Nathan Gravley (Cartersville, Ga.), who had 25 stolen bases a year ago and batted .357, was also named to the preseason All-Conference First Team.
Second baseman
T.J. Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio), shortstop
Jonathan Mary (Maryville, Tenn.) and outfielder
Brian Chapman (Tazewell, Tenn.) were all named to the preseason All-Conference Second Team. Graves batted .369 with 48 RBIs in 2004 and Mary posted a .301 average at the plate with 28 runs driven in. Chapman batted .290 with 39 RBIs and also saw time on the mound as he was 3-1 with a 3.97 earned run average.
The Eagles open the 2005 season on Feb. 4 at Augusta State.
"If you make every game a life and death proposition, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot."
