JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (28-14, 7-9 SAC) will try to stop a three-game skid Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Eagles travel to the Palmetto State to face off with the Newberry Wolves (18-22, 4-12 SAC) at the Smith Road Complex.
The Eagles are reeling on an eight-game streak where they are 2-6 and batting just .247. Carson-Newman has been shut out three times over that period. The Wolves have won just one game in their last 10 contests. Newberry has scored a league-low 36 runs in conference play.
"We've got to get two victories tomorrow," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Our thought is we have to take seven innings, one inning at a time and one pitch at a time. We have to pitch better to give ourselves a chance."
Kelli Hensley (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Haley Taylor (Strawberry Plain, Tenn.) have been the bright spots for the Eagles over the past two weeks. Hensley is riding a 10-game hit streak while Taylor is batting .358 over the Eagles last six contests.
On the flip side, Carson-Newman's pitching has allowed ten hits in three of the Eagles last six outings. The Eagles have a 5.56 ERA over that time span.
"We've got to hold a team to no runs in back-to-back innings," Kazee-Hollifield said. "And hitting can't hurt us, it can only help us. But we have to be selective with our pitches and we absolutely cannot take an at-bat or a pitch off."
Newberry is led offensively by Gabby Bedard and Katie Capobianco. Capobianco leads the team with a .366 average while Bedard can boast of a team high 26 RBI.
Bethany Middleton leads the Wolves pitching staff with 120.1 innings pitched, a 10-10 record and a 2.15 earned run average.
The Eagles own the all-time series with Newberry 37-10 heading into the 48th meeting since 1998. The Eagles have won four of the last five in the series.
Carson-Newman took 2-1 and 7-2 wins last season over the Wolves at the Vick. Hensley had the heroics in the second game with a walk-off single in the seventh inning on a rain-drenched day. The Eagles last loss to the Wolves was a 2-1 decision in 2012 at the Smith Road Complex.
First pitch between the Eagles and Wolves is slated for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at newberrywolves.com.
