Shealy carries Lady Eagles to sweep of Bluefield State
Feb. 7, 2009
Shealy carries Lady Eagles to sweep of Bluefield State
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Freshman pitcher Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) had a monster day on the mound and at the plate, leading the Carson-Newman softball team to a doubleheaders sweep over Bluefield State in its season opener Saturday at the Lady Eagles Softball Complex, 14-0 (five innings) and 11-3 (five innings).
Shealy (1-0) pitched a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts in five innings of work to pick up the win in game one and went 5-for-8 on the afternoon at the plate, including a pair of home runs and six RBI.
The Lady Eagles improve to 2-0 on the season, while Bluefield State falls to 0-2.
"(Shealy) will have to remember that every time you take a cut it's not going over the fence," C-N head coach Vickee-Kazee Hollifield said. "We have to let that happen, but it does show the power that she has. She is a strong kid. We are going to lean on her a lot in the pitching and hitting departments."
In the first game, Shealy received all the run support she needed in the bottom of the first inning, as C-N erupted for nine runs on just two hits, highlighted by Jessie Howard's (Knoxville, Tenn.) leadoff inside the park home run.
The Lady Eagles pushed their lead to 13-0 with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the second. Howard came through with a RBI single, and Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.) then plated on a Bluefield State error to put C-N ahead 12-0. With the bases loaded, Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) ripped a single to center, scoring a pair of runs to end the inning.
Amber Palmer's (Kennesaw, Ga.) RBI single to centerfield in the bottom of the fourth wrapped up the scoring for the Lady Eagles.
C-N finished the game with nine hits and did not commit an error, while Bluefield State finished the game with five errors.
Howard went 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored to lead C-N, while Shealy was 2-for-4. Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) and Durham each added a hit and two runs scored.
Ashlee Roderick and Kourtney Motley each finished with a hit for Bluefield State.
Bluefield State starting hurler Karie Chaffin (0-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up 14 runs (eight earned) on nine hits in four innings of work.
In the second game, the Lady Eagles pounded out 12 hits on their way to an 11-3 victory.
Shealy led the C-N charge with a 3-for-4 performance, including two home runs and four RBI. Little, Kee and Price each added two hits in the win.
Bluefield State had five players that finished with one hit each.
Brittany Linton (Marietta, Ga.) moved to 1-0 on the year by picking up the mound win for C-N after giving up three runs on five hits in four innings on the mound.
Chaffin (0-2) was hit with her second loss of the day as she surrendered nine runs on nine hits in three innings.
C-N put five runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning on three hits, including a two-run home run by Shealy to get things started.
The Lady Eagles kept the bats alive in the home half of the second with three more runs. Amber Hewitt (Ringgold, Ga.) and Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) each drove in a run for C-N during the inning, while Shealy connected on a solo home run.
After C-N added another run in the bottom of the third to push its lead to 9-0, Bluefield State responded with three runs in the top of the fourth on four hits to pull to within 9-3.
However, the Lady Eagles ended the game in the next half inning via the eight-run rule on a RBI single by Shealy.
"The last 48 hours we've been doing a whole lot of shifting with Stephanie Templeton being hurt," Hollifield said. "We had to change some things. The thing that I told them is that we are 2-0. That's what we wanted to accomplish today, but in the process we hoped that we learned some things."
The Lady Eagles return to action on Tuesday in a road matchup against Queens. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.
