JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-1) will square off with six foes in three days when it ventures to Albertville, Ala. for the Charger Chillout at Sand Mountain Park.
Carson-Newman challenges Southern Indiana and Mississippi College Friday at 2:30 and 5 p.m., respectively. The Eagles will play the Screaming Eagles on American Field 5 and the Choctaws on American Field 4.
Saturday, Carson-Newman plays the early game of the day against Shorter at 10:30 a.m. That contest is set to take place on American Field 1. After a mid-day break, the Eagles will face Delta State at 3:30 p.m.
Carson-Newman wraps up play Sunday against West Alabama and Miles. The Eagles take on the Tigers at 10 a.m. on National Field 3 before playing the Golden Bears at 12:30 p.m. on American Field 5.
"There are so many good teams down there," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We really should be able to see a lot of good games while we're down there. I think we will have our hands full, but hopefully other teams also have their hands full with us. Hopefully our pitching shows up and our offense turns back to the level it was when we were in Georgia to start the year."
The matchups put Carson-Newman in some unfamiliar territory against teams it has either never faced or hasn't faced in more than a decade. The Eagles are 6-3 against schools that it is competing against this weekend. However, it hasn't played any of the teams since 2002 at the earliest.
The Eagles will face Shorter, Miles and Mississippi College for the first time in school history. Carson-Newman is 2-0 all-time against West Alabama, with the most recent decision coming in 2002 in a 1-0 win for C-N.
Delta State holds a 1-2 edge against C-N all-time. The Statesmen swept a doubleheader from Carson-Newman in two one-run games in 2000. The Eagles lone win in the series came 6-0 in 1990.
Meanwhile, and somewhat surprising considering the lack of proximity between the schools, Southern Indiana represents C-N's most frequent foe among this weekend's competition. Carson-Newman has a 3-1 edge in the series over four games from 1994-96. Carson-Newman most recently accrued a 12-4 run-rule win over USI.
With a trip through 30.7 percent of the Gulf South Conference this weekend, the Eagles will take on the teams picked sixth (Mississippi College), ninth (Delta State), 10th (West Alabama) and last (Shorter) in that league's preseason poll.
Mississippi College comes into this season fresh off an appearance in last year's South Region tournament. The Choctaws have a run-rule win, 17-4, over perineal Southeast Region power North Georgia.
Carson-Newman carries one of the country's top offenses into the weekend. The Eagles are fifth in the nation in runs, with 46 scored on the year. Carson-Newman also ranks fifth in doubles (16), sixth in triples (four) and 15th in batting average (.374).
Carson-Newman has been hyper aggressive on the base paths, stealing a SAC best 14 bags in as many attempts – that figure is eighth in the nation.
The Eagles have been led in the circle by Sara King (Cumming, Ga.). The grad transfer pitcher leads the nation with her four wins. She has a WHIP of 0.96 and a 1.46 ERA.
Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.), Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) and Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) all have hit .500 or better six games in for C-N.
Sohm rides a career-best eight-game hitting steak and is batting .545. Harris, who has more hits than any other active player in NCAA Division II, follows at .524, while Dye is hitting .500 through the first six games of her career.
Harris ranks seventh nationally with 10 RBI, while Dye sits 14th with nine.
Live stat links for all six games are available at cneagles.com. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for live updates throughout the weekend.
