Eagles, Bulldogs clash on Good Friday
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (21-11, 3-5 South Atlantic Conference) wraps up play before Easter break with a Friday twinbill at noon with a showdown with Wingate (11-19, 1-3 SAC).
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (21-11, 3-5 South Atlantic Conference) wraps up play before Easter break with a Friday twinbill at noon with a showdown with Wingate (11-19, 1-3 SAC).
Carson-Newman hasn't swept a home series from Wingate since 2008. The Eagles and Bulldogs have split the last four double dips at Mossy Creek.
The Eagles have swept Wingate twice (2017 and 2013) in the Old North State since then. Wingate swept C-N at home in 2009.
"Our conference is loaded, and I say that every week," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Wingate has the potential to be a very explosive team. They are well-coached."
The Eagles are trying to get into a rhythm with a 5-5 record through their last 10 games. Carson-Newman is aiming for its first sweep since March 9. The Eagles have split their last two doubleheaders following a three-game losing streak.
C-N is coming off a split with LMU.
"That LMU game hurt us," Kazee-Hollifield said of the second game that C-N lost 7-6 after leading by three runs. "Those kids fought so hard. To me, that's the hardest our team has battled. I know that it hurts now, but if we keep up that level of effort, things will be ok."
Seven different players tallied multi-hit efforts in the Eagles' doubleheader with the Railsplitters. Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) and Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) have had the hottest sticks of late for the Eagles.
Fiessinger is riding a nine-game hitting streak and is on the verge of her second career double-digit hitting streak.
Meanwhile, Pritchett has homered three times in her last 11 at-bats.
"We're close. We either need to put a couple more runs on the board or get a couple more outs, and we're nearly there," Kazee-Hollifield said. "Our defense has been huge, but it continues to need to be that. Every ground ball needs to be ours. We can't take a ball off because we are in that situation."
Wingate has struggled offensively this year. The Bulldogs score the fewest runs per game in the league and have a .261 team batting average that is last in the conference.
Wingate has been far more productive at home than on the road. The Bulldogs hit .286 and score 5.3 runs per game at home. Away from the Wingate softball complex, the Bulldogs hit .240 and score 2.6 runs per game.
At one point in his career, Wingate SID David Sherwood coached the Bulldogs softball team, doing so from 1990-93. The man known affectionately as Chirp, was 30-74-1 as head coach of the Bulldogs.
First pitch between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for noon Friday. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
