MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Carson-Newman (15-5) dropped a pair of three-run games to No. 17 Georgia College (24-4) Tuesday afternoon at the Peeler Complex in Milledgeville, Ga.
"You have one bad inning per game and against the No. 17 team in the country, you can't have that," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "They pounced on our miscues and against a team like that, you have to play flawless softball."
Game one: #17 Georgia College 6, Carson-Newman 3
Georgia College ripped out of the gates with a four-run first. Abi Leroy started the party for the Bobcats with an RBI triple to left center. Leroy came in to score on a throwing error by Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) at first. Stacey Najafi then cleared the bases with her team-leading fifth home run of the season off the netting above the left field fence at the Peeler Complex.
Leroy added to her RBI tally in the second with a double to right to push the Bobcats' lead up to a 5-0 advantage. A Taylor Cambpell single to left center brought Leroy around and gave the Bobcats a 6-0 lead.
Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) exited the circle following the Campbell single in favor of Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.), who helped shutdown the Bobcats as the Eagles' rallied. Howard surrendered just two hits in 4.2 innings of shutout relief work.
Carson-Newman got two back in the fourth when Bre Lockett (Fontana, Calif.) extended her hitting streak to 12 games. Georgia College pitcher Marissa Boyette had retired the first nine batters of the game before Lockett cleared the fence, netting and roadway behind left to one-hop the Georgia College rec center with a two-run dinger that brought Carson-Newman within four runs.
C-N would draw within three in the fifth. Haley Taylor (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) singled through the left side with two out, then Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) reached on an error to give the Eagles a pair of base runners. Siebert was able to double to left center to drive in Taylor unearned.
Trailing 6-3 in the top of the seventh, the Eagles tried to complete their biggest comeback in three seasons, but fell short thanks to some defensive wizardry for the Bobcats. Katlin Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) began the inning with a double to right center. Hayley Burnette (Rossville, Ga.) re-entered for her at second and promptly took third on a Boyette wild pitch. Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) grounded out to third on a play saved by a backhand stab by Bobcat third baseman Kristen Brooks.
Taylor looked to keep the rally rolling for the Eagles. She smoked a shot up the third base line that Brooks dived for, snagged and then landed with her glove on Burnette to produce a game-ending double play.
Kranz took the loss for the Eagles to fall to 8-3 on the year. She surrendered a season-high five hits and six runs. Marissa Boyette went the distance for the Bobcats with seven strikeouts and six hits against. Boyette is now 13-1 on the year.
Georgia College out-hit Carson-Newman 8-6, the first time this season that the Eagles have been outhit in a game.
Game two: #17 Georgia College 4, Carson-Newman 1
Carson-Newman made the first dent on the scoreboard in the top of the first when Lockett walked in a run with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the Eagles could do no further damage and left the bases juiced in the inning.
Georgia College's offense whirred into action in the bottom of the inning. Najafi clobbered a solo bomb down the left field line to highlight a four-run frame for the Bobcats.
That would be all the runs the Bobcats would need. Carson-Newman wasn't without its chances though. The Eagles left runners stranded in every inning but the sixth, and the Eagles had the tying run on first in the seventh.
Toppel had a single through the middle to get the first runner aboard. Brooks Ramsey (San Mateo, Calif.) was hit by a bitch before Lockett walked. However, Pritchett struck out to end the game.
Howard got the start in the circle for the Eagles and took the loss after two innings. Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) pitched four innings of shutout softball in relief. She struck out two and allowed two hits the rest of the way. Carly Lewis collected the win in the circle for the Cobras to move to 10-3 on the year.
The Eagles outhit the Bobcats 8-7. However, the Eagles were 1-for-9 in RBI opportunities and 2-for-17 with chance to advance runners.
The Eagles stay on the road Saturday to open up conference play at Coker.
