JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-1) pops the cork on the new turf on the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex by welcoming in the Lees-McRae Bobcats (0-2) Wednesday at noon.
The Eagles will be on the prowl for a new home-opener win streak. King snapped a string of 17 consecutive home-opening wins last year with an 8-2 triumph on the Eagles home opener.
"We're thankful to be home and to be playing on this beautiful new turf," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We showed that we have a great hitting team 1-9 in the opening weekend. We have a few small things to clean up and we will be just fine."
Carson-Newman has won 16 consecutive games against Lees-McRae. The Eagles are up on aggregate 102-6 over that span.
Lees-McRae snapped a four-game scoring drought in game one of last year's doubleheader against C-N. Nine of the Eagles' last 16 wins against LMC have come via the run rule.
Of the 43 previous meetings with Lees-McRae, Carson-Newman has won 26 via a shutout win.
Carson-Newman struggled offensively last year against the Bobcats, winning two one-run games, 2-1 and 1-0.
Carson-Newman's offense clicked into gear immediately with double-digit hits in four straight games to start this season. Carson-Newman strung together five straight double-digit hitting efforts from Feb. 26, 2020 - March 6, 2020. The Eagles have produced four streaks of four games with 10 or more hits in the last five years.
Carson-Newman ranks in the top 10 in the country in three offensive categories after the opening weekend. The Eagles are third in doubles (15), eighth in batting average (.392) and nine in scoring (36).
Emily Harris and Hayden Dye are both in the top five nationally in doubles in part because of their record-matching games. Both players had a three-double day at the Georgia College Invitational, the ninth and 10th in school history. They are two of five players in NCAA Division II with three-double days this season. Harris leads the country with five doubles while Dye fourth with her four.
Lees-McRae is one of 10 teams nationally to play error free through the opening weekend.
Lees-McRae was picked 10th in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll. That poll was quite muddled with seven different teams collecting a first-place vote.
The Bobcats struck out 28 times in two games against Lenoir-Rhyne to open the season. The Bobcats dropped a pair of tight contests to start the year, 3-1 and 4-3 in nine innings.
Coverage of the contests will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
