JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After being shutout twice at home for the first time in more than a decade Tuesday, Carson-Newman (15-7, 8-6 South Atlantic Conference) hits the road to take on a Wingate (10-10, 3-3 SAC) club that boasts the nation's third-longest active home win streak.
C-N and WU will get underway at 12 p.m. Saturday from the Wingate Softball Complex.
"It starts with our pitching," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "If we pitched like we pitched against Lincoln Memorial, we can beat anyone in the country. We have to add back in the offensive our game to continue to be successful."
The Bulldogs have won 14 straight games at the Wingate Softball Complex. The Bulldogs 14-game home win streak is tied with North Georgia for the third-longest active home win streak in the country. St. Cloud St. has the longest active win streak at 29 games while Lincoln Memorial has won 21 straight at home.
Lacie Rinus became Carson-Newman's fourth member of the 600 K club in C-N's game one win over Limestone on March 10. Rinus is fourth all-time in Ks at Carson-Newman. She needs 42 more to catch Carson-Newman Hall of Famer Heather Randolph for third all-time.
Carson-Newman has been swinging the hottest bat in the South Atlantic Conference this season. The Eagles lead the league in batting average and are 12th nationally hitting .362. With a .449 on-base percentage, the Eagles also lead the league and rank ninth nationally. Meanwhile, the Eagles are ninth nationally with 8.05 runs per game and first in overall runs with 177 scored this season.
Leah Sohm has been fleet-of-foot and highly dangerous on the base paths. The senior's 15 stolen bases are first in the conference and 11th nationally.
Sohm leads the league in batting average at .474. This is just the second time this season Sohm's batting average has dipped below .500 on the season.
Shannon Smith has put on a show for Carson-Newman at the plate. Even after seeing a 16-game hitting streak end against Lincoln Memorial, Smith ranks in the top 20 nationally of seven offensive categories. Smith is second in the country in RBI (36). She is second in doubles with 11 and second in total bases with 70. Smith is fifth nationally in hits with 34 while ranking eighth in RBI per game (1.52). The Channahon, Ill.-native's seven home runs are 12th in the country.
Wingate puts a lot of pressure on teams via the ground game. The Bulldogs are third in the conference and 24th nationally with 14 sacrifice bunts. Furthermore, Wingate leads the SAC in stolen bases. The Bulldogs have swiped 39 bags this year in 43 attempts. The Bulldogs are 27th in the country in stolen bases per game.
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