JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman hurler Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) stares down another career strikeout milestone when the Eagles welcome Limestone (9-9, 1-3 South Atlantic Conference) to Mossy Creek for a 1 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday.
Carson-Newman (10-2, 5-1 SAC) has won five straight and put up at least nine runs in every game since losing its league opener to Mars Hill 6-5 on Feb. 24.
Rinus needs three more Ks to join Carson-Newman's 600 strikeout club. Rinus is fourth all-time in Ks at Carson-Newman. She needs 65 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 11th nationally hitting .374. The Eagles brought up their team batting average 22 points in the doubleheader sweep of Coker Thursday before raising it eight more points Saturday against Queens.
The Eagles numbers are more impressive when you consider some teams have been limited in the number of games they've played due to CoVID. When you factor in teams that have played double-digit games, Carson-Newman is third nationally in batting average behind Regis (.408) and Alabama Huntsville (.394).
With a .476 on-base percentage, Carson-Newman also leads the league and ranks sixth nationally.
Carson-Newman has been scoring runs at a prolific pace. The Eagles' 104 runs scored are fifth in the nation and tops in the SAC. Carson-Newman has scored double the runs of any other team in league play through six games.
The Eagles have put up double-digit hits in seven of their last nine contests, including four of five with at least 13 knocks.
Carson-Newman has been staggeringly good with runners on base. The Eagles are 87-of-209 (.416) with runners. Carson-Newman is hitting .412 with runners in scoring position. Carson-Newman's worst hitter with runners in scoring position is Shannon Smith. She's batting .348 in those situations. Katie Eakes, Lacie Rinus and Leah Sohm all hit .500 or better in that situation.
Katie Eakes and Shannon Smith have prolific at delivering Eagles across the plate. Eakes and Smith have each driven in 17 RBI to rank 11th nationally and third in the SAC.
Leah Sohm has been fleet-of-foot and highly dangerous on the base paths. The senior's nine stolen bases are second in the conference and 13th nationally.
Carson-Newman has three of the top five batting averages in the league. Sohm is second in the league with a .531 tally. Lacie Rinus is third at .500 and Katie Eakes fifth at .467.
First pitch Wednesday is slated for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network will be available at cneagles.com/live.
