JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (2-0) will aim to keep the good times rolling to begin the season with solid defense. The Eagles are aiming to extend a four-game win streak against King (18-27 in 2015) Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
The Eagles did not allow an earned run in their season-opening doubleheader on Feb. 4 against Lees-McRae. The Eagles are the only team in the South Atlantic Conference to have yet to allow an earned run. However, Carson-Newman made three errors in game two and left 15 base runners stranded through the doubleheader.
"We need to continue to work on our consistency in play," head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We've got a lot of people on base, we need to maximize our opportunities when we do get people on base."
King is playing in its season opener, the Tornado has won four consecutive opening day games dating back to a 6-0 loss to Limestone to kick off the 2011 season. King hasn't beaten C-N since an 8-3 triumph over the Eagles in Bristol, Tenn. to conclude 2012's doubleheader.
"They are well coaches and they'll throw a solid defense against you," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We don't have a scouting report on them so we have to be ready to play and adjust to any curveballs, both literal and figurative."
The Tornado will have to replace Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Chrissy Melcher as well as leadoff hitter Stephanie Rodriguez. Melcher started all 45 games, hitting .338 ranking second in Conference Carolinas with 11 home runs. Rodriguez was the Tornado's leadoff hitter and hit .299 with a team-high 12 doubles a season ago. She also led King with 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts.
However, King returns three first team All-Conference Carolinas performers, the battery of Hannah Smith and Morgan Lowe along with first basemen Amber Walker. Smith, a senior should lead the Tornado offense in 2016. A season ago she ranked fourth in Conference Carolinas with eight home runs and seventh with 11 doubles. Smith hit .320 and posted a slugging percentage of .594 which was eighth in the league. Defensively she threw out 10 runners, a mark that ranked third in the league.
In the circle, Lowe, a redshirt junior leads the way after ranking third in Conference Carolinas with 12 wins a season ago. Lowe led the league with 21 complete games, including a league-best four shutouts. She tossed 155 innings, a mark that was second in Conference Carolinas. She finished the season with an earned run average of 2.98, ranking her ninth in the league.
C-N has dominated Conference Carolinas over the last three seasons. The Eagles are 35-4 against the league since the 2013 season. Erskine swept a doubleheader from the Eagles in Due West, S.C. last season. C-N dropped games to Coker and Queens in 2013 the year before they joined the SAC.
Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) fanned nine in her orange and blue debut in C-N's 6-0 win over Lees-McRae. Her nine strikeouts are the most by a freshman in her debut since the 2009 season.
Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) leads the Eagles offensively with a .600 batting average. Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) has the team lead in runs batted in with three.
First pitch from The Vick is set for 1 p.m. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live.
