Softball breaks out brooms, secures Sunday sweep of Belmont Abbey
BELMONT, N.C. – Carson-Newman softball (2-0) rocketed out of the gates to start the 2013 campaign with a doubleheader, shutout sweep of Belmont Abbey (0-2) Sunday afternoon at Crusader Field. The Eagles won game one 13-0 in a five-inning run rule game before taking the second contest 9-0 in six innings.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
BELMONT, N.C. – Carson-Newman softball (2-0) rocketed out of the gates to start the 2013 campaign with a doubleheader, shutout sweep of Belmont Abbey (0-2) Sunday afternoon at Crusader Field.
The Eagles won game one 13-0 in a five-inning run rule game before taking the second contest 9-0 in six innings. Between the two contests, the Eagles wracked up 40 total bases to seven for the Crusaders. The Eagles batted .475 as a team for the doubleheader.
Belmont Abbey didn't have a runner advance past second base in either game. The Crusaders only put runners on second twice, once in each game.
Caitlyn Lance (East Ridge, Tenn.) led the charge offensively for the Eagles. The junior first baseman went 6-for-8 at the dish with four RBI. Brittany Hefner (Talbott, Tenn.) followed suit with a five RBI-day that included a 4-for-8 day at the plate. Three of Hefner's four hits were doubles.
"We never got into holes in counts, our pitch selection was poor in two innings, but we got back on track. Those types of things we have to correct that stuff early. We've got to do the little things right. But anytime on opening day you hit .475, as a coach I'm pleased with that."
Eight of C-N's nine starters hit better than .280 for the doubleheader. Something Carson-Newman head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield attributes to a new mindset throughout the order.
"Once you get through batters one and two, three through nine, we expect them to knock runs in," Kazee-Hollifield said. "In seven and eight, that's usually not the case, but we're expecting run production from those spots in the order throughout this season."
Game one – Carson-Newman 13, Belmont Abbey 0 (5)
Carson-Newman started slow in the opening game, failing to plate a run in the opening frame. However the Eagles erupted for five in the second and six in the third to take an insurmountable lead against the Crusaders.
"We just took good cuts on good pitches," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We have to maintain that same type of aggressiveness. We really took an aggressive stance coming out of the gate for those first three innings."
The Eagles got the merry-go-round whirling in the second inning when Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) led off with a single down the third base line. After Sara Kelley (Birchwood, Tenn.) grounded out to the circle, Lance drove in Siebert with a rip to left. Then, Bethany Davis (Nicholasville, Ky.) bombed a shot beyond the wall in left center to put the Eagles up three.
Two more runs would score in the top of the second on a wild pitch and a Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) RBI groundout to first.
The Crusaders would walk the bases loaded in the top of the third before walking in two more runs. A Hefner double to left would clear the bases.
As potent as the Eagles offense was, Cassie Lyons (Knoxville, Tenn.). The sophomore transfer from Chattanooga State went a complete game to pick up her first win of the season. Lyons surrendered five hits, walked three and struck out two in 5.0 innings. Lyons allowed only two Crusader base runners to make it to second.
Game two – Carson-Newman 9, Belmont Abbey 9 (6)
The Eagles picked up in game two where they left off in game one. A four-run first inning would be more than enough to propel C-N to the win. With a runner on third and one out, Hefner would lace a double into left centerfield to dent the scoreboard first. Kelley would complete the scoring for the inning with a three-run dinger to left center.
Carson-Newman would add three runs in the third and two in the sixth to round out the scoring and complete the run rule, shutout victory.
The Eagles received solid pitching for a second consecutive game. Kaitie Sims (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) picked up the win for the Eagles (1-0) and combined with Kayln Davis (Danville, Ky.) for the one-hit shutout. Sims went 5.1 innings and surrendered the only hit of the contest.
"Again, on opening day when you pitch two shutouts, it says a lot about our defense and Bri – she caught a couple of great games too," Kazee-Hollield said. "But Cassie and Katie really brought it right out of the gate and were able to use all their pitches."
The Eagles return home Saturday for a doubleheader with Pfeiffer at 1 p.m. from the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
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