Carson-Newman has lost its last four games against ranked opponents and hasn't beaten a team in the NFCA top 25 since slaying Flagler 4-1 in the Mid-South Classic in March 2012.
"It's probably one of our best tests," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "They are going to be very scrappy. They'll attack your defense with a short game that's as good as anybody. Our defense will really have to be ready because of how hard they attack."
The Bobcats bat .322 as a team and are led by Abi Leroy offensively. Leroy has walloped 10 doubles and drove in 27 runs to go along with a .338 batting average. The Bobcats have seven regulars who hit .300 or better.
Kazee-Hollifield was pleased with the Eagles play over the weekend at King and look for continued improvement against the talented competition leading up to conference play.
"I think we're at least starting to settle down and play our game. I like our effort and the way we're managing things. It's a good time to play this team and a team of this caliber before we open up conference play with Coker."
The matchups have the making of a pitcher's duel. Marissa Boyette leads the Bobcats with 93 strikeouts, good for eighth in the nation. She also has 11 victories, the fourth most in the country. Meanwhile, C-N's Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) is ninth in the country with three shutouts and 19th in strikeouts with 75 batters fanned.
Bre Lockett (Fontana, Calif.) will look to continue to tear the cover off the ball. Lockett hit .600 last week and is riding an 11-game hitting streak (the last nine have featured consecutive multi-hit games). Lockett's 11-game streak matches Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) for the longest streak by an Eagle this season.
The Bobcats won 12 games at one point this year before a 4-2 loss to GRU Augusta derailed the streak. GCSU owns a one-run win over second-ranked Valdosta State this year. The Bobcats are 5-1 against SAC competition this season. The lone loss came to Queens at the start of season.
Live stats and video will be available at gscubobcats.com. Follow @cnathletics for live updates during the game.
