JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (16-8, 2-0 South Atlantic Conference) continues action at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex Monday afternoon at 2 with Mars Hill (7-12, 1-1 SAC), efforting to stay unbeaten in SAC play.
The Eagles swept a conference-opening doubleheader for the first time since 2011 when they took both ends of a twinbill from Queens, 5-4 and 8-1 Friday afternoon.
C-N can match its 4-0 league start from that season if it sweeps the Lions Monday.
"We have to stay with the same game plan," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We're just trying to continue to get better. I know every sport in America says that, but it's the truth. It'll take everyone, pitching, defense and hitting. We win two out of three categories, we've got a chance."
The Eagles have dominated the all-time series with Mars Hill. C-N leads the series 57-5 heading into the 63rd meeting between the programs. Carson-Newman won the first 44 games in series history before the Lions swept a doubleheader in 2009. Since then, the Eagles' lead the all-time series 13-5.
Normally one of the league's most potent offenses, Mars Hill has struggled this season offensively. The Lions are last in the league in runs scored, hits, triples, total bases and walks. They are 11th in doubles and runs batted in. In spite of those statistical rankings, the Lions hit .291 as a team, sixth in the league.
Senior catcher Erin Vickery leads the Lions offensively with a .389 average. She's driven in 14 runs off three doubles and a team-leading three home runs.
Vickery is one of four regulars for the Lions who hit better than .300 on the season. Vickery, Taylor Lail and Ellen Tillman have all hit multiple home runs on the season for the Lions.
Sydney Elkin and Shelby Culler lead the Lions' pitching staff. Elkin has a 3.08 ERA and a 4-6 record across 14 appearances and eight starts. She's struck out 29 and walked 11 in 52.1 innings of work. Culler, on the other hand, has fanned 32, but walked 26 in 41.0 innings of work. She is 3-1 across six starts and 10 appearances. Culler is coming off a six-strikeout performance in a conference win over Newberry, her second highest tally of the season.
With her grand slam against Queens, Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) moved into the lead for the SAC in home runs hit this season with six. Dean also ranks fifth in the conference with 22 RBI. Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) has the top batting average in the league at .443.
Two weeks ago, freshman Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) was mired in a slump where she had just one hit in 17 at bats. Now Jordan is riding a career-best eight-game hitting streak, the longest of any Eagle. She has brought her average up to .264, an 84-point increase from March 8.
First pitch between the Eagles and Lions is set for 2 p.m. Monday. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live.
