JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For just the third time in the lasts 10 years, Carson-Newman (15-5, 8-4 South Atlantic Conference) will match wits with a top five team when fourth-ranked Lincoln Memorial (22-1, 11-1 SAC) arrives in Mossy Creek for a 1 p.m. first pitch Tuesday.
The Eagles lost on a walk-off grand slam to then fifth-ranked Young Harris last season 13-11. The only other meeting in the last decade with a top-five team came on March 2, 2012 when the Eagles lost 6-1 to No. 4 North Georgia at the Mid-South Classic.
The Eagles also lost twice to then No. 1 UNG in the 2009 regional. Those are the only four games Carson-Newman has played against top-five programs in the last 13 seasons.
Carson-Newman enters the contest 4-5 against ranked foes in Michael Graves three years as C-N's head coach.
"We'll need big outings from our pitchers," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "That's a talented offensive team, and a stout defensive one too, that LMU has. We will have to pitch smart while not giving away free passes between hit batters and walks."
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 13th nationally hitting .370. With a .467 on-base percentage, the Eagles also lead the league and rank eighth nationally.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are seventh nationally with 8.75 runs per game and second in overall runs with 170 scored this season.
Shannon Smith (Channahon, Ill.) has been staggering at the plate of late. Riding a career-best 16-game hitting streak, Smith has matched assistant coach Kristen Toppel for the fifth-longest in school history. Two more games and she'll tie Abby Fiessinger's 18-game streak that started her career. Kelli Hensley has the third longest at 19 while Angel Bales (25) and Sammi Hatcher (33) sit atop that leaderboard.
Smith has 13 hits in her last 19 at-bats - 10 of which have gone for extra bases. She has six doubles, two triples and two home runs in that span.
Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been fleet-of-foot and highly dangerous on the base paths. The senior's 15 stolen bases are first in the conference and 13th nationally.
Carson-Newman has three of the top five batting averages in the league. Sohm is the league's leader with a .510 tally. Shannon Smith rides a 16-game hitting streak that has brought her average up to .466, the second best in the conference, while Eakes is hitting .464 to rank third in the leauge.
LMU has won to straight 10 games thanks to five consecutive South Atlantic Conference sweeps, LMU has equaled its best start to a season in the 40-year history of the program by pushing its record to 22-1.
Emma Frost set a new program-record for strikeouts in a five-inning contest by fanning 12 of 15 batters faced in an 8-0 rout of Mars Hill in which she also dealt a perfect game six days ago. Frost is second in the SAC with 89 strikeouts
LMU's Audrey Petoskey is the nation's leader in home runs and RBI. She's slugged 10 dingers while driving in 37.
First pitch between the Eagles and Railsplitters is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network will be available online at cneagles.com/live.
