Eagles set for Wednesday matchup against Mars Hill

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (23-11, 5-5 South Atlantic Conference) will look to capitalize from the good vibes from a pair of walk-off wins against Wingate when the Eagles take on Mars Hill (11-11, 2-6 SAC) Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. from the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.

"It was nice to have some time off for Easter, especially for these kids with as hard as they've been working of late," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We've come back and gone to work. We only have eight doubleheaders, so let's see what we can make happen with 16 games left and that starts with Mars Hill."

The game with the Lions will continue Mars Hill's road trend.  The Lions have played all 22 of their games away from Ponder Field on Mars Hill's campus.

MHU has had a quartet of home doubleheaders moved around and played two doubleheaders at Enka High School. Mars Hill, Lees-McRrae, Shaw, Livingstone and Bluefield State are the only schools south of the Mason Dixon Line without a home game. There are 27 schools nationwide who have not played at their home field all year.

Mars Hill had lost six consecutive before run-ruling Newberry 12-2 in its last game. The Lions also own a run-rule, 11-3 win over a nationally-ranked Queens team.

The Lions boast one of the more impressive offenses in the South Atlantic Conference, led by Ragan Broome. 

Broome leads the South Atlantic Conference is slugging percentage with a .792 tally. In a mere 72 at-bats, Broome has bashed 10 doubles and six home runs.

Mars Hill averaged a shade over 5.5 runs per game, a number that is fourth in the conference.  They also have the fourth highest team batting average and the third highest slugging percentage in the conference at .314 and .485, respectively.

The Lions have clobbered 23 home runs already, the only team in the SAC that hits more than one home run per game, on average. 

Carson-Newman pitcher Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) is number two in the country with seven shutouts this season. She ranks ninth in the nation with 140 strikeouts.

The Eagles have won five straight games over the Lions and have positively dominated the all-time series. Carson-Newman leads the all-time ledger 61-5. Mars Hill has never beaten the Eagles in Jefferson City.

Carson-Newman won the first 44 games between the two teams before the Lions swept a 2009 doubleheader from the Eagles at Ponder Field.

First pitch between the Eagles and Mars Hill is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network online at cneagles.com/live.