VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
JEFFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Southeast Regional and South Atlantic Conference regular season title implications will persist when Carson-Newman (31-13, 11-9 SAC) and No. 13 Anderson (36-6, 19-3 SAC) collide Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
The Trojans need a win to clinch the SAC's regular season championship outright, while the Eagles need a victory to solidify their position in the league's tournament. The Trojans could also clinch an outright regular season title if Carson-Newman were to beat Lenoir-Rhyne once on Saturday.
Anderson is the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region rankings, while Carson-Newman clocks in in sixth. A win over AU would drastically solidify the Eagles' positioning for Southeast Regional tournament play.
Emily Harris, NCAA Division II's active hits leader, sits on 322 knocks coming into the doubleheader. With one more hit, she will move into the top 16 all-time in NCAA Division II history. She presently sits with the 17th most hits in Division II all-time. Her next knock will move her into a tie with Christie Hill of CSU Bakersfield (2003-06), while three more hits will put her even with 15th place and Kim Kouri, Augustana (SD) (1988-91)
Carson-Newman ranks in the top 10 nationally in nine offensive categories. C-N leads the nation in hits with 472. The Eagles rank second in doubles per game (2.18) and third in doubles (96). The Orange and Blue checks in in fifth in runs scored (341) and triples (23), while ranking sixth in runs per game (7.75). The Eagles are seventh in batting average (.367), eighth in on-base percentage (.431) and 10th in triples per game (.52) and slugging (.555).
Macey Hughes is fifth in the country with 58 RBI this season. Hughes has four games this year with at least four RBI and three with five or more. With four games remaining in the regular season, Hughes is 17 RBI away from Brittany Hefner's (2013) school and SAC record 75 RBI for a single season. Anderson's Kayson Boatner leads the SAC with 60 driven in on the year to go with a league-record 22 home runs.
Hughes has hit 13 home runs this season, she has the 17th double-digit 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 is second in the nation with 73 knocks, while Sohm is ninth with 66. 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 one 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 (108-116). 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 Trojans is set for 1 p.m. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
