JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With only one error made in its last seven games and winners of 10 of its last 12 games, Carson-Newman (17-3, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) looks to carry its strong defensive efforts in to a Tuesday twinbill with Limestone (10-10, 5-3 SAC), Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
Carson-Newman is playing exceedingly defensive-minded softball. The Eagles have made just one error in their last seven games. A six-game streak was tied with the second-longest error-free streak of softball for Carson-Newman over the last 16 years.
Carson-Newman's .981 fielding percentage is the best in the SAC and the 11th-best total nationally (however, among teams that have played at least 10 games, the Eagles rank sixth nationally).
Macey Hughes is the 12th player in school history with 20 career home runs. Her next bomb will place her in a tie for 10th on the all-time list with Staci Fish (2000-01) and Katie Pritchett (2015-18) and their 21 home runs. Elayna Siebert (2013-16) sits in ninth place all-time with 22 career home runs.
Macauley Bailey is halfway to Carson-Newman's single-season home run record. Brittany Hefner is the single-season record-holder with 19. Bailey has nine through 20 of Carson-Newman's scheduled 48 regular season games. She ranks second in the nation and in the SAC behind reigning national player of the year Kayson Boatner. Bailey is also fourth in the nation in RBI with 27. Should Bailey get to double-digit home runs, she would join two-time All-American Abby Fiessinger as the only freshman in the history of the Carson-Newman softball program with double-digit bombs in a freshman season.
Offensively, Carson-Newman is 13th nationally in hits (169), 15th in home runs (19), 14th in runs scored (120) and 25th in triples (six).
The Eagles have been stupid good this season at pulling the iron out of the fire in close games. Carson-Newman is 7-2 in games decided by two runs or fewer (the two losses came in 1-0 decisions in the same day against Embry-Riddle and No. 17 Alabama Huntsville).
Carson-Newman has won nine of its last 10 games against Limestone. That includes six consecutive within the confines of the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex. Four of Limestone's six wins in the series came from sweeps in 2016 and 2017. Since that four-game Saint winning streak, C-N is 9-1 against Limestone.
Limestone's Santana Anderson and Katie Wilbur have both been hit machines for the Saints. Each player has 30 hits. The pair is tied for sixth nationally for knocks. Anderson ranks fifth nationally and third in the SAC with her 57 total base
First pitch between the Eagles and Saints is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a monthly subscription through FloSports and cneagles.com/FloSB.
