Lady Eagles sweep Lincoln Memorial for first SAC victories
March 31, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman softball team earned its first South Atlantic Conference victories Tuesday afternoon by sweeping Lincoln Memorial in a doubleheader at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
The Lady Eagles dropped the Railsplitters 7-5 in the opener and completed the sweep with an 8-0 win in six innings in game two.
With the wins, C-N improves to 18-12 overall and 2-4 in the SAC. Lincoln Memorial falls to 14-14 and 1-5 in conference play.
"It's nice to get those first two conference wins," C-N coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We kind of had a slow start in our first two conference outings. Any time you play Lincoln Memorial you know you are going to have to go to war, but our kids played hard today. That was refreshing to see."
In the first game, the Lady Eagles pounded out 11 hits and received a nine-strikeout performance from junior hurler Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.) en route to a 7-5 victory.
C-N had seven extra base hits, including a season-high four home runs. Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.), Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.), Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.), Amber Palmer (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Templeton finished with two hits each. Durham, Little, Palmer and Templeton each smashed a home run. Durham also drove in three runs.
The Railsplitters collected six hits in the game. Sammy Jo Garrett (Wartburg, Tenn.) and Joy Grills (West Salem, Ohio) each had two hits in the loss. The 2008 Daktronics South Atlantic Region Player of the Year Sarah Henn (Kettering, Ohio) added a three-run home run and finished with four RBIs.
In her first game back from an eye injury, Templeton (2-1) provided a spark to the Lady Eagles and allowed five runs on six hits in seven innings of work to earn the win.
"She's worked extremely hard in the time that she has had off," Hollifield said of Templeton. "Her mentality and her work ethic definitely gave the rest of our team a lift today. You could just see that they were playing with more emotion and things like that."
Lincoln Memorial starting pitcher Brittany Stuive (Portland, Texas) (7-3) was tagged with the loss after surrendering seven runs on 11 hits in six innings on the mound.
The Lady Eagles struck first in the bottom of the second inning. After Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) ripped a double to left center, Templeton drove home Kee with a double to give C-N a 1-0 lead.
C-N added three more runs in the bottom of the third on a pair of homers. Durham lined a two-run home run over the left field fence, and Little came through with a solo blast to push the Lady Eagles' lead to 4-0.
Lincoln-Memorial trimmed C-N's lead to 4-3 in the top of the sixth. After singles by Jackie Adams (Columbus, Ohio) and Garrett, Henn launched a towering three-run shot to center field.
Back-to-back home runs by Palmer and Templeton in the bottom of the sixth gave C-N a 6-3 lead. Durham drove in the Lady Eagles' final run of the game on a single to right.
Henn and Stuive each drew a two-out bases loaded walk in the top of the seventh, scoring Grills and Bridget Eicher (Hicksville, Ohio) to cut C-N's lead to 7-5, but Templeton was able to get Mira McPeek (Westerville, Ohio) to fly out to center field to end the game.
In the second contest, Little's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning gave C-N an 8-0 lead to end the game via the eight-run rule.
The Lady Eagles rattled off 12 hits for the game. Little went 4-for-4, including her second home run of the day, and had four RBIs to lead the way. Howard and Durham contributed two hits each.
"That's the potential that Sarah Little has," Hollifield said. "When she makes the adjustments and gets her hands out she is very good. She hit one of the farthest balls I've ever seen hit here at Carson-Newman. It was a good day for her."
The Railsplitters finished with just three hits in the contest.
C-N starting pitcher Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) (12-8) pitched all six innings to pick up win. It was Shealy's sixth shutout this season. The freshman right-hander gave up just three hits and struck out three batters.
Lincoln Memorial starter Kris Landenburg (Canal Winchester, Ohio) (0-4) was hit with the loss after surrendering six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in four innings on the mound.
Little produced a run-scoring single in the bottom of the first to give C-N an early 1-0 lead.
The Lady Eagles added a run in the second on a Durham single to take a 2-0 advantage.
C-N extended its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third on a solo shot by Little.
After adding a run in the fifth, the Lady Eagles put the game away in the home half of the sixth. Shealy smashed a two-run double to left field to give C-N a 6-0 advantage, and Little ended the contest by driving in a pair of runs with a single to center field.
C-N returns to action in a doubleheader at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. in Hickory, N.C.
