Eagles Close Regular Season with Crucial Twin Bill at Lenoir-Rhyne
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (26-16, 13-9 SAC) closes its regular season with a critical SAC doubleheader at Lenoir-Rhyne (29-17, 14-8 SAC) on Friday for a resume-building opportunity and a chance to cement a hosting spot for the opening round of the SAC tournament.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
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0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | X | 5 | 11 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 3 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | X | 14 | 15 | 4 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (26-16, 13-9 SAC) closes its regular season with a critical SAC doubleheader at Lenoir-Rhyne (29-17, 14-8 SAC) on Friday for a resume-building opportunity and a chance to cement a hosting spot for the opening round of the SAC tournament.
C-N is tied for third in the SAC with Lincoln Memorial but owns the tiebreaker over the Railsplitters due to a doubleheader sweep in March. It's a tight race for a spot in the top four, as Tusculum and Emory & Henry are right behind C-N with 12-10 records in conference play.
The Eagles also own the tiebreaker over the Pioneers, but in the case of a tie between C-N and E&H, the Wasps would earn the hosting spot after sweeping the Eagles last week.
C-N fell behind early in game one and played from behind for most of the contest, but a three-run seventh inning courtesy of a Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) RBI single and Brooklyn Lucero's (Loma, Colo.) two-RBI knock tied it at seven to send the game to extras. The teams went back and forth until the 10th, where E&H scored two to win the opener.
E&H started the scoring again in game two, jumping to a three-run lead in the second inning. Carson-Newman tied it in the seventh on a Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) RBI groundout, but the Wasps walked off the nightcap with a sacrifice fly to secure their second walk-off victory to sweep the twin bill.
C-N heads to Hickory to square off with a surging Lenoir-Rhyne squad, second in the South Atlantic Conference and winners of six of its last eight games. The stretch features sweeps over King and Limestone while splitting with Newberry and then-No. 24 Tusculum.
While it has not entirely been the season the Bears were looking for after making a run to the national semifinals last season, LR has done a stellar job overcoming a 0-4 start to turn in a solid campaign. Like the Eagles, the Bears have used the long ball to their advantage, leading the country in home runs (81).
Madison Primm (16), Lani Warren (12), Avery Kiger (10), Katelyn Rackard (10), and Alexandria Gray (10) have mashed double-digit home runs in 2025, helping LR to its Division II-leading tally.
Primm's .461 batting average is third in the South Atlantic Conference, one point behind C-N's Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.), as the season-ending twin bill will feature two of the league's top hitters regarding batting average. Primm ranks fifth in RBI (49) and is joined in the top ten by Avery Kiger in 8th (48), and Lani Warren in 10th (45).
Lenoir-Rhyne has also been stellar in the circle, posting a 3.82 team ERA, good for third in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears rank second in the conference in strikeouts, retiring 247 hitters via the punchout.
Madison Wilson is a large contributor to the Bears' impressive strikeout total, striking out a league-best 136 hitters in 25 appearances. Wilson holds a 13-7 record and a 3.98 ERA in 126.2 innings of work, posting 16 complete games. Another heavily used arm, Faith Carrigan, has a 3.93 ERA, holding a 12-7 record and 11 complete games in 103.1 innings.
The Eagles and the Bears will meet for the 94th time on Friday, with C-N leading the all-time series 56-37. The Eagles won both games of the twin bill last season in a pair of contests decided by three runs combined.
The opener remained scoreless till the 5th, when C-N scored four on a Hayden Dye RBI double, a Brooklyn Lucero RBI single, and a Wynter Morris (Crozet, Va.) RBI double. Lani Warren cut the deficit in half in the 6th with a two-run home run, but C-N held on for a 4-2 win.
C-N overcame an early deficit in game two, tying it at two in the 2nd inning on RBI singles from Hayden Dye and Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.). LR took a one-run lead in the 4th, but C-N scored three in the 5th on an Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) RBI triple and a Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) RBI single. LR scored one in the 7th to get within one, but C-N closed the door on a one-run victory to secure the sweep.
The Eagles will look to replicate that success in a crucial doubleheader, aiming to secure a spot in the top four to host the opening round of the SAC tournament in the twin bill with the Bears starting at 1 p.m.
The games will be streamed live at cneagles.com/FloSB and audio-only at cneagles.com/live.
For updates throughout the 2025 Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
