JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in 14 years, Carson-Newman (5-1) will match wits with a Gulf South foe when the Eagles travel to Cleveland, Tenn. to take on Lee (5-4) Wednesday at 1 p.m.
This is Carson-Newman's first contest with a Gulf South program since 2006. The Eagles split a doubleheader with West Georgia, prevailing in the night cap 3-1 after losing the opening game 2-0. Carson-Newman is 23-14 all-time against the league, with 13 of the wins and five of the losses coming against LMU when it was a member from 1992-06.
Carson-Newman faces Lee for the first time in 26 years when the two teams get together Wednesday. The Eagles dominated the series before moving to NAIA. Carson-Newman won 10 of the 12 meetings from 1990-94. C-N shut out the Flames in five of those meetings. Carson-Newman's average score in the 10 wins over the Flames is 8.3-1.2.
The Eagles have fallen in love with the long ball early this season. Carson-Newman has clobbered 10 home runs in six games. The Eagles are third nationally in home runs per game with 1.67. It's led to Carson-Newman having the country's third-highest scoring offense at 9.5 runs per game.
"As nice as the home runs, slugging and scoring are nice," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "I'm more impressed about the fact that we are eighth in the country in on-base percentage. I think that says a lot about us picking good pitches to swing at and taking what opposing pitchers give us, then if they give us a ball over the plate, we'll hit it as far as we can."
Keeley Quillen's (Gate City, Va.) bat exploded over the weekend with three bombs. She is third nationally in home runs per game - 0.50 per game. Additionally, she ranks fifth in slugging at 1.182.
Shannon Smith (Channahon, Ill.) is off to a stellar start to her freshman campaign. The third baseman has logged a hit in all six of the Eagles contests. She ranks 13th nationally and leads the SAC in RBI per game with 1.67 a contest. Smith is 15th in the country in slugging at 1.000.
Should the Eagles pick up a run-rule win over Lee in game one, it'll mark the first time the Eagles have won three straight games via the run-rule since starting a 17-game winning streak in 2017 with a 12-2 win over Augusta followed by 8-0 and 11-1 wins over Bluefield State.
Lee is led offensively by Taylor DeAdder. She is hitting .478 this season with 11 knocks and 13 RBI. Lilly Hatcher complements her with a .429 batting average.
First pitch from Lee is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday. Follow @cnathletics on Twitter for live in-game updates.
