JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (29-13, 9-9 South Atlantic Conference) closes out the road portion of its regular season schedule with its longest road trip of the year to Hartsville, S.C. to take on Coker (15-27, 5-15 SAC) Tuesday at 1 p.m.
C-N sits in a three-way tie for sixth in the league standings with Newberry and Tusculum. The three teams have a game lead on Limestone (10-12) for the final spot in the league standings. The Saints have a doubleheader with Mars Hill left.
Coker hasn't been mathematically eliminated from the SAC tournament, but the Cobras would need to win out, and Carson-Newman would need to lose out for the Cobras to have a chance. The Cobras would also need UVA Wise to lose its final four remaining games for Coker to make the tournament.
Emily Harris, NCAA Division II's active hits leader, sits on 320 knocks coming into the doubleheader. With three more hits, she will move into the top 16 all-time in NCAA Division II history. She presently sits with the 20th most hits in Division II all-time.
Carson-Newman ranks in the top 10 nationally in nine offensive categories. Carson-Newman is second in the country in doubles per game (2.17) and hits (447). The Eagles rank fourth in doubles (91) and triples (23), while ranking fifth in runs scored (324). C-N ranks sixth in batting average (.364), seventh in runs per game (7.71), and eighth in on-base percentage (.430) and triples per game (.55).
Macey Hughes is third in the country with 57 RBI this season. Hughes has four games this year with at least four RBI and three with five or more. With eight games remaining in the regular season, Hughes is 18 RBI away from Brittany Hefner's (2013) school and SAC record 75 RBI for a single season.
Hughes has hit 13 home runs this season, she has the 17th doubledigit home run season in school history and is tied for fourth in school history for a single season with Lindsay Dean (2016) for fourth. Her 14th will draw her level with Elayna Siebert (2015) for third, while her 15th would put her even with Staci Fish (2001) for second. Brittany Hefner (2013) holds the single-season record with 19.
Emily Harris and Leah Sohm are two of the most prodigious hitters in the country. Harris leads the nation with 71 knocks, while Sohm is seventh with 62. They are one and two in the league for most hits this season and have two of the four highest batting averages in the conference. Every Carson-Newman softball player who has tallied 69 or more hits in a season has been named an All-American.
Harris is three hits away from Lacie Rinus (2018) and her 74 hits for the sixth most in a single season in Carson-Newman softball history.
Carson-Newman has triple-digit stolen bases for the fifth time in school history (100-106). At present standing it's the best stolen base percentage in school history and the first season in school history highlighted by three players (Leah Sohm, Emily Harris and Natalie Corbin) who have all stolen at least 20 bases
First pitch between the Eagles and Cobras is set for 1 p.m. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for live coverage of the contests.
