JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (22-6, 3-1 SAC) heads to North Carolina for a pair of weekend doubleheaders against Catawba (19-6, 4-0 SAC) Saturday and Pfeiffer (9-11, 3-3 Conference Carolinas) Sunday.
"What a special weekend this is," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "After we had to work so hard against Brevard, we know we're going to face some high quality pitching this weekend. I expect us to come out and continue to play hard."
The Eagles bats have been cooking of late. C-N is batting .403 as a team over its last three series. Kelli Hensley (Knoxville, Tenn.) is hitting .696 with 16 base knocks in 23 at bats over that time span. Meanwhile, Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) is getting on base 80 percent of the time during that same time span.
They'll have to contend with SAC pitcher of the year candidate Carly Tysinger in Salisbury, N.C. Tysinger leads the league with 121 strikeouts.
"She's just a competitor," Kazee-Hollifield said. "She's got all the pitches and can throw a bit harder than most pitchers we'll see. You want your kids to buckle down and I think they're excited about the opportunity to go up against her."
The matchup is the 60th meeting between the Eagles and Indians. Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 47-12 thanks to a 28-game win streak in the mid-90s to early-2000s. Catawba has owned the series of late. The Indians have won five of the last seven meetings. That includes taking two of three from the Eagles – including a 4-1 decision in the Food Lion SAC tournament – a year ago.
On the other hand, Carson-Newman has been nothing but dominant against the Falcons. C_N owns a 19-game win streak of PU and has a 23-1 all-time record. However, Kazee-Hollifield said the Falcons are much improved from a year ago.
"Pfeiffer has a couple good wins under their belts," Kazee-Hollfield said. "They jumped out of the blocks very well. They're a scrappy bunch and you have to be ready to play seven full innings against them. They will prepare us well for the SAC tournament."
The Eagles have held PU to eight runs over the last 10 meetings. The Eagles have run-ruled the Falcons in 10 of the last 13 games.
First pitch with the Indians Saturday is slated for 11 a.m. from Whitley Field in Salisbury. The Eagles get rolling Sunday with Pfeiffer at 1 p.m. in Misenheimer, N.C. at Jack Ingram Field.
