DUE WEST, S.C. – Sophomore pitcher Kalyn Davis (Danville, Ky.) fired the first perfect game for Carson-Newman softball (11-1) since 2009 as the Eagles took a doubleheader sweep over Erskine (3-5). C-N took game one 9-1, before Davis' theatrics highlighted game two's 2-0 win.
Davis, the reigning South Atlantic Conference pitcher of the week, retired all 21 batters she faced and only needed one strikeout to complete the perfect game. She retired 11 batters with ground balls and nine on fly outs.
"She was just a coach's dream today," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "She pitched relaxed and let her defense play behind her. She didn't throw much out of the zone. It was ground ball city. The outfield made two spectacular catches. Elayna Siebert in right and Kelli Hensley in left got great jumps on two balls that were just shots."
Davis' perfect game is the Eagles' second no-hitter of the season and their first in seven innings. Mary Shealey collected the Eagles' last perfect game in 2009 in a five inning game against Brevard.
Kelli Hensley upped her hit streak to 15 games. The streak is the longest for Carson-Newman since Sara Kelley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) had base knocks in 15 consecutive games in 2011.
"She's just aggressive right now, and that's what you want from a slapper," Kazee-Hollifield said. "In that number one spot, you want her to get on, but it's even better that she's attacking good pitches."
Game one: Carson-Newman 9, Erskine 1 (six innings)
Carson-Newman trailed 1-0 after three innings before exploding for five runs in the fourth and four runs in the sixth to pick up the run-rule win. The Eagles were aided by four Erskine errors.
The Flying Fleet took a 1-0 lead in the third on an Ericka McCarson home run.
The Eagles countered the next inning when Caitlyn Lance (East Ridge, Tenn.) led off the frame with a homer – the first of her senior season. An error by the Flying Fleet's catcher and the shortstop would prove costly later in the inning.
Following singles from Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Brittany Bass (Duluth, Ga.), Hensley blasted an RBI double to score Morgan. However, Hensley would take third and Bass would come home on the error by the catcher. Siebert would make it aboard thanks to an error at short before coming around to score on a wild pitch.
A Kelley sacrifice fly to center scored Hensley to round out the runs in the frame for the Eagles.
"Our whole deal was to hit early in the count," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We really had to do that after the fourth inning. Game two, they threw an off speed junkball pitcher that kept us off balance."
Carson-Newman picked the offensive onslaught up in the sixth – all with two outs. Hensley blasted a two-out triple (she finished a homer shy of the cycle) and came in to score when Siebert bopped her first home run of the season. Following a Kelley double and a Hefner walk, Haley Taylor (Jefferson City, Tenn.) reached on an error at second that saw Kelley come home. A Lance single brought Hefner around to round out the scoring.
Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) picked up the W in the circle to improve to 5-1 for the year. Dani Newton took the loss to fall to 1-2 for the Flying Fleet.
Game two: Carson-Newman 2, Erskine 0
Highlighted by Davis' perfect game and defense, runs were at a premium for the Eagles in the second game.
The Eagles' run in the second was unearned. After back-to-back singles by Kelley and Hefner, Kelley came around to score on a throwing error by the second baseman. Kelley drove in the Eagles' other run in the seventh with a single to plate Hensley.
"We hit the ball solid, but we had to adjust to off speed stuff" Kazee-Hollifield said. "It was also nice to see us hang on in a game and pull out a close one."
The win is the first for Carson-Newman this year with a margin of victory smaller than four runs.
Davis improves to 5-0 in the circle with the win. After starting the year with 16 consecutive shutout innings, she's hurled 12 consecutive of scoreless ball again.
The Eagles stay on the road for a Monday contest at Kentucky Wesleyan.
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