Sara Kelley record tying and breaking home runs
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (32-16, 11-11 SAC) senior third baseman Sara Kelley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) clocked her 33rd and 34th career home runs to tie and then take over first on C-N's all-time home run record list in a 5-2, 10-1 (five innings) doubleheader sweep of Queens (21-25, 5-15 SAC).
Kelley moves past Sarah Little and her 33 home runs from 2007-11. Aside from the historical perspective, Kelley was incredibly effective at the plate with a four-for-six day, seven runs batted in and four runs scored.
"You have to fear Sara Kelley," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "It's been an honor and privilege to coach her. If she gets a pitch, she's taking it somewhere far away from home plate."
With the victory in game one, Carson-Newman assured itself a spot in the South Atlantic Conference tournament. Cassie Lyons (Knoxville, Tenn.) matched a career high with eight strikeouts while pitching complete game victories in both games one and two to move to 8-1.
Lyons becomes the first C-N pitcher since Mary Shealey in 2012 to pitch complete game victories in both games of a doubleheader.
"We knew we'd have to come out and play hard because of the way teams are playing one another," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We were far more disciplined at the plate and you can't overshadow Cassie Lyons. She was effective today. It was good for her to get a little endurance."
Game one: Carson-Newman 5, Queens 2
After swapping scoreless frames in innings one and two, the Eagles finally got on the board in the third. The Eagles advanced a pair of runners into scoring position with two out. Kelley then knocked a blooper to center field that dropped before Samantha Martinez could get to it. Both Lyons and Kelli Hensley (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored and C-N captured a lead it would not relinquish.
Queens got a run back in the fourth when Whitney Britt led off the inning with a single before back-to-back sacrifice bunts moved her to third. Britt halved the Eagles lead by scoring on a wild pitch.
C-N would get some insurance in the fifth. With Kelley on third and Haley Taylor (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) on second, Caitlyn Lance (East Ridge, Tenn.) lofted a ball over the pitcher's circle into no-man's land in front of second. The Royals' shortstop Micaela Hayes charged and fired a one-hopper to first. Kaitlyn Cheek couldn't flip it out of the dirt and Lance reached safely while Kelley and Taylor scored.
Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) would add a run with a single to left to score Lance.
Queens added a run in the sixth off a sacrifice fly, but Lyons shut the door by retiring the Royals in order in the seventh.
Game two: Carson-Newman 10, Queens 1 (five innings)
Carson-Newman tied its largest margin of victory in the 12-game history between the schools with a 10-1, five-inning, run-rule victory over the Royals in the backend of the doubleheader.
The win also marked the first doubleheader sweep for the Eagles since taking a twinbill from Mars Hill on March 26 and the first run-rule win since March 23 and a 10-2 win in six innings over Pfeiffer.
The Eagles got the offense rolling early when Kelley tied the school record with her 33rd career home run off a first-pitch fastball that carried the wall in center and clanked off the scoreboard in the first inning. The two-run home run would be all the runs the Eagles would need.
Queens got a one-out blast in the second from Cheek. However, Lyons retired the next 10 Queens batters to effectively slam the door on the Royals offense.
The Eagles would get the run back in the bottom half of the inning on a Hayley Burnette (Rossville, Ga.) bloop single down the left field line.
Kelley continued Carson-Newman's offensive onslaught in the third by planting her record-breaking 34th career home run – a three-run shot - over the wall down the left field line.
A Brittany Hefner (Talbott, Tenn.) two-RBI double to left center and a Taylor bases-clearing trip down the left field line secured C-N four runs in the fourth and the requisite eight-run cushion to activate the run rule.
The Eagles must wait out Saturday's SAC action before finding out their seeding in the tournament. The Eagles can rise as high as sixth.
The conference tournament begins Thursday at Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn.
