Lady Eagles sweep rival Tusculum
April 8, 2009
Game 1 Final Stats
Game 2 Final Stats
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman softball team evened up its South Atlantic Conference record with a pair of wins over rival Tusculum on Wednesday afternoon at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
The Lady Eagles cruised to an 11-3 victory in six innings in the opener before shutting out the Pioneers 6-0 in the second game.
With the wins, C-N improves to 21-13 overall and 5-5 in the SAC. Tusculum drops to 12-24 on the year and 3-7 in conference play.
"We played well today," Lady Eagles coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "(The Tusculum-Carson-Newman game) has kind of been a rivalry throughout the years. We had our kids fired up to play because we knew they would come in here ready to play."
"I feel like we are peeking at the right time and I see some bats coming around. Our defense seems to have settled in, and that's encouraging heading towards the conference tournament."
In the first game, the Lady Eagles jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back. C-N pounded out 13 hits in the contest.
Junior Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) crushed two home runs and drove in four runs to lead the Lady Eagles, while Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) collected two hits, drove in three runs and scored three times. Amber Hewitt (Ringgold, Ga.) and Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) also finished with two hits apiece.
The Pioneers finished the contest with six hits, including a 2-for-2 effort from Alex Kimbrell (Crossville, Tenn.). Rachel Hopper (Simpsonville, S.C.) added a three-run homer in the loss.
C-N starting hurler Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.) (4-1) won her third straight game since returning from an eye injury. The junior right-hander surrendered three runs on six hits and struck out five in six innings of work.
Pioneers starting pitcher Holli Cadenhead (Van Vleck, Texas) (7-14) was tagged with the loss after working five innings and giving up 11 runs on 13 hits. Cadenhead finished with four strikeouts.
Howard gave C-N a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning by leading off with an inside the park home run.
C-N then erupted for four runs in the home half of the second to push its lead to 5-0. Price produced a run scoring single. Howard drove in a pair of runs with a triple, and Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.) delivered an RBI single for the Lady Eagles in the inning.
The Lady Eagles built an 8-0 lead over the next two innings, as Amber Palmer (Kennesaw, Ga.) ripped a run-scoring single in the third, and Little launched a towering two-run shot to center field in the fourth.
Tusculum seemed to build some momentum in the top of the fifth, as Hopper pulled the Pioneers to within 8-3 on a three-run homer to left field. However, C-N added a run in the home half of the fifth on a Templeton home run, and Little ended the contest via the eight-run rule in the sixth with a two-run shot to center field.
In the second contest, the Lady Eagles remained hot at the plate as they collected 10 more hits, and freshman starting pitcher Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) (13-9) pitched seven shutout innings to earn the win. Shealy allowed seven hits, struck out four batters and also produced two hits.
Templeton rattled off a pair of hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs in the win, while Durham and Price also had two hits each.
The Pioneers tallied seven hits for the game. Jessica McKee (Morganton, N.C.) contributed two hits to lead the way.
Tusculum starter Alyssa Hansen (Parker, Colo.) picked up the loss. Hansen tossed six innings and gave up six runs (four earned) on 10 hits.
C-N grabbed a 2-0 lead in the home half of the first. Shealy delivered an RBI double, and Templeton singled to drive in the final run of the inning.
The Lady Eagles pushed their lead to 3-0 with a run in the bottom of the fourth before putting the game out of reach by scoring three runs in the sixth.
Templeton crushed her second home run of the day to lead off the sixth for C-N. Price produced an RBI single, and Durham drove in Price with a double down the left-field line for the final run of the game.
C-N returns to action on Friday in a SAC doubleheader against Newberry. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
