JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Searching for games amidst CoVID cancellations and wet weather, Carson-Newman (1-1) has added contests this weekend against Lees-McRae and Tiffin.
Carson-Newman will tangle with Lees-McRae Saturday at noon before turning around to play Tiffin Sunday. First pitch for that game is also at noon.
"We're just glad to have games," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "That's the key to us getting better, going out and playing outside competition. We're grateful for Lees-McRae and Tiffin for being willing to make the trip, comply with our CoVID protocols and play some games this weekend."
Lees-McRae, under new head coach Kendall Fuller, was selected to finish sixth in the 2021 Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll.
Senior Charlsy Traylor and sophomores Hannah Foster and Addyson Ikard were recognized as Preseason Players to Watch.
Traylor enters her second season in Banner Elk after leading the Bobcat pitchers in nearly all pitching statistical categories during the 2020 season, including a pair of wins over then nationally ranked No. 1 Young Harris. Foster and Ikard each hit over .300 and combined for four home runs and 16 RBI's during the abbreviated 2020 season
Carson-Newman has won 14 consecutive games against Lees-McRae. The Eagles are up on aggregate 99-5 over that span. Lees-McRae snapped a six-game scoring drought to C-N in game two of 2016's double-header, a 4-2 C-N win. Nine of the Eagles' last 14 wins against LMC have come via the run rule.
Of the 41 previous meetings with LeesMcRae, Carson-Newman has won 25 via a shutout win. This is the first meeting between the teams since 2018.
Tiffin (then a member of the GLIAC) took a 3-2 extra innings win from Carson-Newman in 2018 at the Mid-South Classic in the lone meeting between the two programs.
In that meeting in the top of the eighth, after a pop up bunt and a strikeout, the Eagles walked Ally Rock to put a force out at first, second and third. That didn't matter for pinch-hit batter Hayley Kobie. She knocked a base hit to score the international-rule runner Lindsay Graves and put the Dragons up 3-2.
Leading the attack for Tiffin is second team NFCA Midwest Region pick Hayley Kobie. Kobie, also a first team All GMAC pick, batted .383 with 11 doubles and 27 RBI. Brooke Lambert brings a .327 average back along with 30 RBI and 11 doubles, while Heidi Marshall (.279, 23 RBI) and Brooklynn Esser (.306 in 2020) also return.
Tiffin struggled in its CoVID abbreviated season in 2020. The Dragons were 2-12 when the season came to an end and had lost eight straight.
This is Tiffin's season opener. The Dragons have won two of their last three season openers.
All four games will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
