JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (10-10) will face off against its second Mountain East foe of the year when it welcomes Wheeling (3-13) to the banks of Mossy Creek for a Sunday twinbill at 11:30 a.m.
A sweep of Wheeling would get Carson-Newman back above .500 for the first time this season since starting the year 1-0. The Eagles were 2-8 through their first 10 games, but have rounded into form and won eight of their last 10.
Macey Hughes enters her senior season poised to make some inroads into the Carson-Newman softball record books. Macey Hughes sits in eighth place in Carson-Newman history for career home runs with 24, she is tied with Mandy Stevens. Next up on the all-time list is Lisa Rogers, who had 26 from 2003-06. Sara Kelley (2010-14) holds the program's all-time record with 35. Hughes is also top 10 all-time in RBI with 144. She sits in sixth, needing 12 more RBI to move into the top five all-time. Stevens also occupies that spot with 157 all-time.
Macauley Bailey sits on 22 career home runs, the 13th player in school history with 20 career blasts. She is tied with two-time All-American Elayna Siebert and her 22 home runs for 10th all-time. Bailey is two home runs back of eighth place, occupied by teammate Macey Hughes and Mandy Stevens.
With seven home runs this season, Bailey leads the South Atlantic Conference. Her 25 RBI are second in the league. Brooke Matyasovsky is second in the league in home runs. She's belt four bombs in the Eagles last three games. Hayden Dye is tied with her with six home runs. Bailey is 16th nationally with her seven home runs.
Carson-Newman ranks 25th nationally and fourth in the SAC with 25 home runs this season. The Eagles have hit at least one bomb in five straight games and seven of their eight.
Wheeling has dropped eight straight games, three-quarters of which are against familiar competition for C-N. The Cardinals are winless in their last six against King, UVA Wise and Emory & Henry. C-N was also swept by King earlier in the season, and will take on UVA Wise and E&H later in the year in the SAC schedule.
The Cardinals are 257th out of 260 NCAA Division II softball teams who have played games this season in team ERA. Wheeling has a 10.29 team ERA. The Cardinals have given up double-digit runs in half of their 16 games.
First pitch between the Eagles and Cardinals is set for 11:30 a.m. 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.
