JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (30-16) opens up its SAC tournament foray in pursuit of a league-record 12th tournament title when it opens up play Friday at 3:30 p.m. against Newberry from the AU Softball Complex.
Carson-Newman is seeded third. The Wolves are seeded sixth. The teams split the regular season meetings, with C-N run-ruling the Wolves 10-1 in five innings to start a doubleheader before the Wolves prevailed 6-3 in the nightcap.
The winner of Friday's game gets the winner of the matchup between second-seeded and host Anderson and seventh-seeded Lincoln Memorial. The loser faces elimination against the loser of the game between the Trojans and Railsplitters.
For all of the meetings between Carson-Newman and Newberry, very few have come in SAC tournament play. This will be the second time since 1999 that Carson-Newman has faced the Wolves in the league's tournament, but the second year in-a-row.
C-N is 2-1 all-time against Newberry all-time in SAC tournament action. The Wolves handed Carson-Newman its first loss of the 1999 tournament 3-2. The Eagles eliminated Newberry last year with 11-5 and 7-1 wins.
Carson-Newman begins its quest for a league-record 12th tournament championship. Carson-Newman has played for the title in four of the last six tournaments, last winning in back-to-back years in 2017-18. Anderson and Lincoln Memorial prevailed over Carson-Newman in the 2019 and 2022 events.
Carson-Newman has been on a home run tear. The Eagles have socked 55 home runs this season, the most in a single-season in school history. There have been 12, 50-home run campaigns in SAC history. Lenoir-Rhyne holds the league record for blasts in a season with 102 in 62 games in 2010.
On the individual charts, Macauley Bailey is the fourth player in program history with 30 career home runs, and the first to do it in two years. Her next home run will move her level with Mary Shealy (31 from 2009-12) for third all-time. Sara Little (33 from 2007-10) and Sara Kelly (35 from 2011-14) sit in second and first. Macey Hughes is two spots behind with 27 career homers, tied with Hall of Famer Whitney Hickam Cruze. Britney Hefner is in sixth on the listing in fourth with 28 home runs.
Brooke Matyasovsky has 24 career home runs for the Orange and Blue, while Hayden Dye has 21. They are the 14th and 15th players in program history to hit more than 20 career bombs. Matyasovsky has hit 65 home runs in her collegiate career - the fourth most among active players in all divisions and the most of any player actively playing in NCAA Division II. Mandy Stevens sits in 10th in school history with 24 career blasts.
Hughes is also top five all-time in RBI with 167. She is tied with Sara Kelley and her 167 for third-most all-time. It would take another seven RBI to get to Sara Little and second-all-time (174).
Prior to this season, there had been 11, 12-homer campaigns in Carson-Newman softball's 39-year history. Those previous 11, 12-homer years all occurred in different seasons. Bailey (15), Matyasovsky (14) and Hayden Dye (12) all have pulled off the feat this year. Bailey's next home run, or the next two by Matyasovsy will give that player sole possession of second place on the single-season home run chart. Brittany Hefner holds the single-season record with 19 (2013).
Bailey and Dye lead the SAC with 59 and 55 RBI this season - the 15th and 16th, 50-RBI season in school history. Brooke Ramsey (51) and Bre Lockett (55) in 2015 are the only other pair of Eagles to drive in 50 runs in the same season. Bailey and Whitney Hickam are the only Eagles to drive in 50 runs twice in a C-N career. Hickam, a C-N Hall of Famer and the program's all-time leader for a career, is the only player with a pair of 60-RBI seasons.
First pitch between C-N and Newberry is slated for 3:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the two versus seven matchup between host Anderson and Lincoln Memorial. Coverage of the game will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
