Brittany Hefner postgame interview
Jessica Morgan postgame interview
Vickee Kazee-Hollifield postgame interview
The Eagles worked their way to the wins with a seven-run inning in game one and a five-run frame in game two. Brittany Hefner (Talbott, Tenn.) clobbered a pair of homers to power the Eagle attack to the pair of victories.
Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) went four-for-six at the dish while Kelli Hensley (Knoxville, Tenn.) went five-for-eight with her fourth triple of the season.
Game one: Carson-Newman 8, Concord 5
Game one appeared to belong to the Mountain Lions – at least the way the first two innings went. Concord began the game with a bang thanks to Kristen Rose.
The second baseman hit a laser into the pine trees in right field off a 1-0 fastball to leadoff the game with a home run.
The solo shot gave the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead Concord would add to in the top of the second. Kelsey Lineberger led off the frame with a line drive homer to center to push CU's lead to 2-0. When Rose came back to the plate later in the inning, it was with runners on the corners. She lofted a ball over the head of Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) in right for a triple that cleared the bases.
Carson-Newman hadn't rallied for a victory when down by more than a run this year. However, the Eagles exploded for seven runs in the third to do just that.
Haley Taylor (Jefferson City, Tenn.) doubled to lead off the frame before Hensley lifted a ball in to left. The leftfielder Kristi Benvenuto struggled with the ball and lost it coming up to throw, allowing Taylor to score and Hensley to move to second.
The Eagles would load the bases off a Jeanie Marie Perrucci (Duluth, Ga.) bunt single and a Sara Kelley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) walk on an 10-pitch at bat – the longest at bat of the season for a C-N player.
That set the stage for Hefner. Without a home run in her senior year, Hefner cremated an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left to give the Eagles the lead with one swing of the bat. The grand slam was the fourth of Hefner's career.
The Eagles added two more runs in the frame off Taylor's single up the middle in her second at bat of the frame and another when Morgan scored on a fielding error by the pitcher.
Concord got a run back in the fourth when Kalyn Davis (Danville, Ky.) balked in a run. However, C-N extended its lead back to three in the bottom of the frame when Hefner hit her second homer of the day – this one a solo shot.
Kalyn Davis picked up the win in relief for the Eagles after throwing 5.1 innings of four-hit ball. She allowed just the one Mountain Lion run. Allie Reid took the loss (5-1) for Concord, just her first of the year, after allowing the seven runs in the third.
Game two: Carson-Newman 7, Concord 4
In the second game of the doubleheader, Carson-Newman built a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Eagles put a five spot on Concord in the second inning to get all the runs they'd need to pick up the victory.
The Eagles put runners on the corners with one out when Audry Woodby (Knoxville, Tenn.) came to the plate. Woodby plopped a ball over the head of the left fielder to clear the bases and give the Eagles their initial lead. Brittany Bass (Auburn, Ga.) tripled down the left field line to score Woodby. Hensley made it back-to-back triples to score Bass and open up a 4-0 lead.
C-N got its final run of the inning on a Taylor double to center.
Concord got two runs back in the third on a Rose RBI ground out and a Lacey McDougal double to left center.
The team's swapped runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Concord got theirs on another Rose double in the fifth, while the Eagles scored one off a Caitlyn Lance (East Ridge, Tenn.) double to right center.
Lineberger homered for a second time in the sixth, but Kelley made it a three-run game again in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
Davis induced a 1-2-3 inning in the circle in the top of the seventh to complete the win and pick up her first save of the season (she entered in the fifth with the tying run at the plate).
Cassie Lyons (Knoxville, Tenn.) notched her second victory of the season after firing 4.1 innings, giving up four hits and three runs. Sarah Herndon took the loss for Concord to drop to 2-3 on the year. She allowed six hits and five earned run in her two innings of work.
The Eagles return home Saturday to face GRU Augusta at noon. Live video will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
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