JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (25-9, 10-6 South Atlantic Conference) will try to pump the breaks on a three-game losing streak when it welcomes Tusculum (20-21, 6-12 SAC) to The Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex for a noon doubleheader Tuesday.
With four SAC series left for the Eagles and three left for Tusculum, much is one the line when the two sides meet. Carson-Newman sits in fourth in the standings, two games back of first and one back of second. Tusculum is a game back of Anderson for the final spot in the league tournament.
Carson-Newman and Tusculum match up for the 67th time. C-N leads the all-time series 47-17, but the teams have split back-to-back doubleheaders. Carson-Newman had swept three straight home twinbills from the Pioneers prior to Tusculum winning game one of a doubleheader at C-N 8-4 in 2021.
The Eagles' .352 batting average is the top mark in the South Atlantic Conference and eighth-best total in the country. Carson-Newman has kept its batting average north of .350 since March 16. It sat at .322 at the end of February before the Eagles hit .392 as a team for the month of March.
SieAnna Cameron leads the South Atlantic Conference and ranks eighth nationally with a .489 batting average. This marks the second time this season Cameron's average has dropped below .500. The last time it happened, she proceeded to rattle off four straight games with multi hits, going 12-of-15 at the plate to send that average back to .530. Only Sammi Hatcher (.524 in 1992) has hit better than .500 for a season in C-N softball history.
Macey Hughes sits in 10th place in Carson-Newman history for career home runs with 21. Her next blast will bring her even with Elayna Siebert (2013-16) who sits in ninth place all-time with 22 career home runs.
Freshman Macauley Bailey is the second in the country in runs batted in. The Cross Plains, Tenn.-native has 52. She has driven in a run in 14 of her last 16 games and has 14 games this year where she has driven in multiple runs. The single-season SAC and school record for RBI in a season is 75, held by Carson-Newman's Brittany Hefner (2013).
Bailey is riding a 16-game hitting streak. That's tied for the fifth-longest hitting streak in school history. Bailey is level with SieAnna Cameron, Shannon Smith and Kristen Toppel for the fifth-longest streak in school history at 16 games. Abby Fiessinger has the fourth longest. Fiessinger hit successfully in 18 straight games to start her career in 2017. Kelli Hensley sits in third with a 19 game hitting streak in 2014. Angel Bales (25 between 1996-97) and Sammi Hatcher (33 in 1992) sit atop the chart.
Kallyn Newport has been prodigious for Tusculum. The Walters State transfer is second in the SAC and 21st nationally with 54 hits. She is fourth nationally and the SAC's leader with 16 two-base hits. Newport has 17 multi-hit games this season, including a sextet of three-hit games.
First pitch between the Eagles and Pioneers is set for noon Tuesday. Coverage is available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floSB.
