Eagles take two from Newberry, tie school record for conference wins

VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview

VIDEO: Jessica Morgan Interview

VIDEO: Haley Taylor Interview

VIDEO: Cassie Lyons Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

C-N picked up its sixth walkoff run-rule win of the season with a 9-1 win in five innings in game two before using two-out hitting to carry an 8-3 decision in the nightcap.

"It was and has been a total team effort," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Newberry is a very scrappy team.  We left a lot of runners on base, but we still hit the ball well, we pitched well and we defended well."

The wins move Carson-Newman ever so closer to its league-best 14^th regular season conference title.  The Eagles have a two-game lead on second-place Anderson with two series remaining. If the Eagles win two of their next four contests, they can do no worse than share the league title with the Trojans.  If the Eagles win three of their next four games, then they'll have their first outright SAC title since 2005.

With 14 conference wins, C-N ties the school record for conference wins in a season set by the 2011 team that went 14-4 in SAC play.

"I love this team's desire," Kazee-Hollifield said. "These kids are not happy after just one game. They want to win two.  They are on a mission and that mission is to win four more ball games right out."

Game one: Carson-Newman 9, Newberry 1 (five innings)

Carson-Newman scored nine unanswered runs after Newberry held a 1-0 lead through 2.5 innings to win its six game of the year in run-rule walk-off fashion.

Newberry grabbed the opening 1-0 lead in the first when Gabby Bedard slashed a double over the head of the C-N rightfielder Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.). Casey Nakawatase pinch ran for her and scored on a soft flare to right from Jeri Loffler.

That would be the extent of the Wolves offense.  Newberry hurler Maude McCourrey retired the first six batters she faced before running into a spot of bother in the third. She hit Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) with a pitch, walked Hayley Burnette (Rossville, Ga.) and saw Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) snake a bunt to the left of the circle to load the bases with no one out. 

Carson-Newman set the merry-go-round a whirling with an RBI single to right from Haley Taylor (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) and a two-RBI double off the wall in left center from Bre Lockett (Fontana, Calif.). Lockett's double gave the Eagles the lead for good.  Carson-Newman plated two more in the inning for a five-run frame and a 5-1 lead.

C-N hung another crooked number on the scoreboard in the fourth.  Elayna Siebert singled just inside the chalk along the right field line to bring Taylor around from second before Fiame drilled a double off the wall in left center to produce a pair of runs.

Carson-Newman ended the game early in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, Lockett hit a ball to short. The Wolves' shortstop bobbled it before attempting to go to third for a force out but Jessica Morgan (Ooltewah, Tenn,) was ruled safe as Burnette scored for the game-ending run.

Howard got the win in the circle to improve to 7-4. She scattered seven hits, allowed the one run and struck out four.

McCourrey took the loss for Newberry to drop to 9-4 on the year.

Game two: Carson-Newman 8, Newberry 3

Carson-Newman did all of its heavy lifting offensively in game two with two out. All eight of the Eagles' runs were scored with two outs on the board.

This time it was C-N that pounced to the early lead.  The Eagles put a four-spot on in the bottom of the first. 

Carson-Newman had runners on first and second when Fiame came to the plate.  Fiame ripped a ball through the left side of the infield for a base hit that Bedard misplayed once it rolled into left.  The ball got behind Bedard on an E7 and allowed both Brooke Ramsey (San Mateo, Calif.) and Siebert to score.

Both runs would become earned on the next batter thanks to Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.). The freshman crushed her second home run in as many series into the pine trees to the left of the centerfield scoreboard to give the Eagles' the opening 4-0 lead. 

Newberry made a game of it in the fifth. An RBI single up the middle from Bedard and a pair of runs scoring on an E4 put three across for the Wolves to bring them within a run. 

The Wolves comeback would be short-lived; C-N brought four more across in the bottom of the frame, again all with two out.

A sacrifice and a groundout moved Toppel over to third. Taylor drove in her second run of the double header with a single up the middle. Siebert then lifted a ball to left that Bedard bobbled and let fall for an E7 that plated Taylor.  With two aboard, Ramsey smashed her first career triple to clear the bases and set the final margin at 8-3 Eagles.

Cassie Lyons (Knoxville, Tenn.) celebrated senior day in style with her second win of the season off her first start. Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) worked the final 2.1 innings without allowing a hit to collect her second save of the year.

Brittany Middleton went the complete game for Newberry and took the loss to fall to 5-7.

The Eagles are back at home Wednesday against Tusculum. First pitch with the Pioneers is set for 2 p.m. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live. Should the Eagles win both games, they will guarantee themselves at least a share of the SAC regular season title.