The Eagles were swept by Erskine in a doubleheader over the weekend before sweeping Limestone. Across the four games, Carson-Newman made 11 errors, including a pair of four-error games against Erskine.
"What we're going to try to do is clean up our defense," Kazee-Hollifield said. "There are a lot of aspects of the game that we need to clean up. But the one I'm looking the most at these next few doubleheaders is defense."
Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) made three errors against Erskine and Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) two. It had been two years since any Eagles had that many errors in a game.
Carson-Newman is last in the SAC in fielding percentage with a .944 tally. That's not to say there haven't been defensive bright spots. The Eagles have turned a league-leading four double plays and have thrown out 45 percent of runners attempting to steal on them – also a league best.
"It's a matter of being ready and it's a matter of quick reaction," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We came back and we've been bouncing balls hard off the wall and doing whatever we have to to get that corrected. It's a matter of fortitude too. I don't care if it's defense, hitting or bunting – you have to have the right heart and the right passion. It's a game that's meant to be played all out and I'm displeased with what we've done thus far. We're a lot better than how we're playing.
With a pair of victories, Vickee Kazee-Hollifield can move past George DiMatteo of Lewis and into fifth on the DII all-time wins list. DiMatteo has 1,032 wins and Kazee-Hollifield has 1,031. DiMatteo will have an opportunity to regain his spot, the Flyers open their season on the 20th.
Carson-Newman designated player Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) is working on a six-game hitting streak, a career long for her. She leads the league in batting average with a .619 average.
FVSU's pitching staff gives up an average 4.5 extra base hits a game. The Wildcats have an 8.4 team ERA. The Eagles' pitching staff has given up seven extra base hits in their eight games this year.
Through eight games last year, the Eagles had hit five home runs. C-N has doubled its production in that regard this year, sending 10 roundtrippers out of the park.
Live stats for Thursday's games will be available at fvsusports.com. Follow @cnathletics on Twitter for live updates.
