The Eagles were swept Saturday by conference foe Catawba 2-1 and 7-5. Carson-Newman has only been swept in back-to-back conference series once in school history. The Eagles lost to Catawba and Mars Hill back-to-back-to-back-to-back in 2009 for a four-game losing streak that matched a then school record.
C-N and MHU represent two of the top three offenses in the South Atlantic Conference. The Eagles lead the league in hits, batting average, doubles, triples and are second in runs scored. Mars Hill is third in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging.
"When they score runs, they score a good number of them," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "They've done that from the beginning of the season. This will come down to hitting, and it's rare that that happens. We'll use their wins over Wingate and Anderson as motivation for our kids to show just how good and talented they are."
The Lions own a 10-9 win over the Bulldogs and a 9-8 win over the Trojans. Jamie Hockaday leads the Lions order with a .435 average. She leads the league with a .565 OBP.
"She is a great contact hitter," "She hits the gaps so well. When you've got someone who hits the ball as well as she does, you have to keep everyone else off the bases."
The Eagles own the all-time series with Mars Hill 54-4 coming in to the 59th and 60th all-time meetings between the programs. The Eagles won 44 consecutive against the Lions in a win streak that spanned 19 years from 1990-2009.
However, the series has been far more balanced over the last five years where five of the last 10 meetings have been decided by a single run.
Kelli Hensley (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Sara Kelley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) continue to power the Eagles' high-octane offense. Hensley leads the league and is 12th in the nation with her .496 batting average. Kelley tops the SAC RBI chart with 44. Her seven home runs are second in the league.
The Eagles are coming off a Sunday doubleheader sweep of Pfeiffer where they bombed five home runs, including four in game two. The four homers mark the third time in the last five years that the Eagles have gone yard for a quartet of dingers in a single games.
First pitch between the Eagles and Lions is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free HD stream at cneagles.com/live.
