JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After the cancellation or postponement of three straight doubleheaders due to weather, Carson-Newman (21-3, 2-0 SAC) finally returns to the field Tuesday after a 12-day layoff with a SAC doubleheader at Limestone (20-6, 3-3 SAC) at 1 p.m.
Carson-Newman will look to pick up where it left off at the start of the month of March with an 11-game win streak.
The Eagles have won eight straight in the series with Limestone. The last time the teams got together, the Eagles and Saints combined for 27 runs with C-N winning 15-12 in the third-highest scoring game in school history between two teams combined.
The Eagles offense has been prodigious in 2022. Carson-Newman has the most runs scored (204) and hits (263) of any team in NCAA Division II. Carson-Newman ranks in the top 20 nationally of 10 offensive categories including doubles (2nd - 54), stolen bases (4th - 61), triples (4th - 14), batting average (6th - .375), on-base percentage (6th - .448) and runs per game (6th - 8.50)
The Eagles are more than halfway home to the fifth triple-digit steals total as a team in school history. The 2004 and 2008 teams share that record with 125 stolen bases on the year.
Carson-Newman has three of the top four hitters in the country. Leah Sohm (1st - 40), Emily Harris (2nd - 39) and SieAnna Cameron (4th - 35) are all in the top four nationally in hits this season.
Macey Hughes and Hayden Dye are two of the best run-producers in the country. Hughes leads the nation with 38 runs batted in on the season. Hayden Dye sits in 10th with 28 driven in. If Hughes were to continue on this pace over the final 30 games of the year, she would surpass All-American Brittany Hefner's single-season SAC and school record of 75.
Carson-Newman is trying to stretch its win streak out to 13 straight games - that would match the Eagles' 13-game winning streak to start the 2019 season. The Eagles' 11-game win streak is the sixth-longest active win streak in the country.
Carson-Newman has won six straight road games. The Eagles six-game road winning streak is the fourth-longest nationally.
Limestone is 14-2 at home this season. The Saints only losses in Gaffney have come 5-3 to Emmanuel and 6-2 to Coker in their last game.
Limestone is fifth in the country in hits this season with 221 but third in the South Atlantic Conference behind Carson-Newman and Newberry.
Katie Wilbur has the seventh most hits in the nation. She has has 35 knocks on the season. Wilburr also is sixth in the country in RBI with 30 on the year. In the offensive-happy SAC, Wilbur ranks fourth in the league in hits and third in the conference in RBI.
First pitch Tuesday is set for 1 p.m. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for live coverage of the games.
