JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (4-0) will try to start a season with six consecutive wins for the second straight year when it travels to Bristol, Tenn. for a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader with the King Tornado (2-3).
The Tornado took down defending South Atlantic Conference champ Tusculum 4-0 at the Cougar Classic. The Tornado fell to LMU 9-1 and Wingate 5-2 at the same event.
Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with King 12-1. The Eagles took a pair of one-run games from the Tornado last season 4-3 and 10-9 in extra innings.
"It will be a tremendous challenge for us," C-N head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "I look forward to it because it should be a good measuring stick for where we are this year."
The Tornado is bolstered by a pitching staff featuring Hannah Light. Light boasts a 1.22 ERA and a 2-1 record. She's struck out better than a batter an inning and is giving up a .156 batting average against.
Hannah Smith leads the Tornado offensively with a .583 average; Chrissy Melcher follows suit with a .438 average and a team high four RBI. Melcher produced three RBI in the extra innings game last season versus the Eagles, all of which came on a three-run blast in the top of the seventh to tie the game for the Tornado.
King is hitting .225 as a team; meanwhile, the Eagles only have two players among their regulars batting below .300. Sara Kelley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) has started her senior campaign in resounding fashion. She has six hits in 12 at bats, five of which have gone for extra bases.
Carson-Newman has only allowed one earned run through its first four games. Kazee-Hollifield said pitching is the area the Eagles need the most work on from their last meeting with the Tornado.
"We will have to score more and pitch more effectively than we did last year against them," Kazee-Hollifield said. "They hit the ball extremely well against us last year; our defense needs to be where we expect it to be."
The Eagles made three errors in their Friday doubleheader with Fort Valley State. However, Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) has allowed just one hit in her 10.0 innings pitched. Kalyn Davis (Danville, Ky.) hasn't given up a run in her nine innings across three appearances.
First pitch Wednesday is slated for 1 p.m. Live stats for the contest are available at kingtornado.com
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