Four-game road weekend awaits Carson-Newman
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-2) plays four games in two days away from the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex this weekend. The Eagles head to Columbia, S.C. for a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday with Benedict before heading the Milledgeville, Ga. Saturday to take on Georgia College at the Peeler Complex at 1 in the afternoon.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-2) plays four games in two days away from the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex this weekend. The Eagles head to Columbia, S.C. for a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday with Benedict before heading the Milledgeville, Ga. Saturday to take on Georgia College at the Peeler Complex at 1 in the afternoon.
The back-to-back road doubleheaders are the first time that Carson-Newman will play outside the state of Tennessee. The Eagles have won six out of eight games at home this season and swept a doubleheader at King on Feb. 11.
C-N will put a six-game winning streak on the line Friday with the first ever meeting against the Tigers of Benedict. Carson-Newman won six straight just once last season, from March 30 – April 9.
"This weekend is a matter of making adjustments," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "It's the first time we've ever played them, so we don't have a ton of information built up on them. Because of that, it's on us to just go out and play hard and taken care of what we can take care of."
The Eagles have won five consecutive series-opening games with teams they've matched wits with for the first time.
Benedict represents the fourth SIAC opponent that Carson-Newman has played since 2014. The Eagles have outscored their SIAC opposition 93-6 and are 6-0. Included in that is a 31-3 win over Fort Valley State from 2015. The Eagles set program records for runs scored and margin of victory that day.
The Tigers are 2-3 this season. They share one common opponent with Carson-Newman, North Greenville, whom the Eagles swept. NGU in turn swept Benedict with two run-rule wins in five innings. The Crusaders won game one 12-1 before taking the nightcap 16-1.
Benedict is led by preseason All-SIAC first team corner infielders Starkeira Daniel and Ericka Dargan lead the Tigers. They were major catalysts for the Tigers last year. Daniel led the Tigers offensively and was .393 at the plate. She also recorded 42 hits, 40 RBI, 32 runs and 10 homeruns. Dargan batted .328 which included 38 hits.
"I'd like to see us play better small ball," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We still need to work on properly executing a bunt and a sacrifice."
After Benedict the Eagles head to Georgia College. Carson-Newman will try to snap a five-game skid to the Bobcats. The five-game losing streak is the longest active skid against an opponent.
Furthermore, the Eagles haven't won at the Peeler Complex since 2011, sweeping a doubleheader 6-1 and 1-0.
The Bobcats were picked third in the preseason Peach Belt Conference coaches poll behind North Georgia and Armstrong State.
Georgia College went 41-18 last season, reaching the NCAA Tournament and winning a pair of games there to reach the sub-regional final. The Bobcats return three seniors including infielder Faith Flanders, who led the PBC with 55 RBIs last year.
"(Head coach) Jamie (Grodecki) always does a great job of manufacturing runs," Kazee-Hollifield said. "They'll bunt. They'll squeeze. Defensively we'll have to be ready to handle that, and handle it every inning by getting that first out. Our defense will need to rise to the occasion."
Carson-Newman continues to feature exceptional pitching on the season. Both Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) and Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) rank in the top five in the league in strikeouts. Webster has fanned a league-best 42, while Rinus sits at 29 Ks after a career-best 10-punchout performance in Tuesday's sweep of UVA-Wise. The Eagles 1.04 team ERA is the top mark in the SAC.
Offensively, Abby Fiessinger continues to propel the Carson-Newman attack. The freshman is third in the league with 12 RBI, while her 10-game hitting streak to start her Carson-Newman career is the best streak to start a career in recent memory.
Follow @cnathletics on Twitter for live updates for both doubleheaders.
