The Eagles will angle to continue their suddenly sound defensive efforts with midweek contests against Mountain East conference foes UVA-Wise (7-6) and Concord (7-2).
First pitch with UVA-Wise is at 1 p.m. from Cavaliers Field Tuesday while the Eagles take on Concord Wednesday at 1 in the afternoon from the CU Softball Complex.
With a .373 average, Wise is sixth in the country in batting average. The Cavs rank 13th in on-base percentage at .435.
Wise represents the 106th different opponent that Carson-Newman has faced in its 31 year history. The Eagles have only lost the opening game of a new series 19 times, most recently in 2012 with a 5-1 defeat to the LeMoyne Dolphins.
The Eagles then trek to Athens, W. Va. to face Concord will be Carson-Newman's first trip to the Mountain State since beating Bluefield State 8-0 and 9-0 in a pair of run-rule wins in Bluefield, W. Va. in 2013. That represents Carson-Newman's only trip to West Virginia this decade.
The Mountain Lions are 7-2 and winners of five straight. CU went 5-0 at a tournament in Raleigh outscoring opposition 40-12. The Mountain Lions have scored at least eight in four straight games.
CU also has some prodigious bats. The Mountain Lions hit .327 as a team.
Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) is in the midst of a career long hitting streak by reaching successfully on a base hit in 12 consecutive games for the Eagles. She has five multi-hit performances in that span.
Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) leads the Eagles and ranks second in the SAC with a .451 batting average. Siebert leads the league with her three triples and is fourth with her seven doubles. Inexplicably, the Eagles' leading home run hitter from a year ago has gone 54 at bats since her last trip to the Dinger District.
First pitch from Wise, Va. is set for 1 p.m. Coverage of that doubleheader will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
