Vickee Kazee-Hollifield video preview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The South Atlantic Conference's top offense in Carson-Newman (26-8, 5-3 SAC) and the league's top defense in 14th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne (25-8, 5-3 SAC) collide at 1 p.m. Sunday at The Vick.
Carson-Newman has scored 239 run on a league best .367 average while Lenoir-Rhyne has given up a league-low 53 runs.
"They don't do anything to hurt themselves," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "They always play good defense and their coach has a strong ball club in all areas. Their pitchers can throw for speed or for movement. They keep people off balance."
The Bears have a pair of all-conference-quality pitchers in Brandi Hole and Maryann Hoskins. Hole leads the league with a 0.69 ERA while Hoskins is fourth with a mark of 1.64.
On top of the exceptional pitching, the Bears boast the best fielding percentage in the conference with a 97.2 percent success rate.
"Both squads certainly respect one another, but we can't make a mountain out of this game." Kazee-Hollifield said. "It's no more or less important than say the Coker series. We need to win all of these to put ourselves in position for a spot in the conference tournament."
The Eagles own the all-time series lead 42-25 heading into the 68th and 69th meetings between the teams. The Eagles won the first 28 meetings in series history; however, the Bears are 25-13 against C-N since the turn of the century. The Eagles haven't swept a season series with L-R since 2002.
Sydney Landrith and Jody Mizelle lead the Bears offensively with .398 and .372 averages, respectively.
"They're disciplined on the offensive side with three batters who can put it over the fence at any moment," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We'll have our work cut out for us."
The teams split a doubleheader a year ago. The Bears took game one 6-4 on the strength of a six-run inning before Cassie Elliot hit a 3-2, two-out, three-run home run to force extra innings and help C-N to a 6-3 win in game two.
The Eagles enter off a bizarre doubleheader sweep of Mars Hill. The Eagles managed to win a pair of one-run games against the Lions 14-13 and 12-11 in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Wingate handed Lenoir-Rhyne a pair of losses Thursday.
First pitch Sunday is set for 1 p.m. Fans can watch the game for free and in HD on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
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