VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
WISE, Va. – Carson-Newman softball pitcher Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) broke Heather Randolph's 24-year-old school single-game strikeout record as the Eagles (12-6) worked a doubleheader split with UVA-Wise (8-7).
The Eagles took game one 5-0 behind Webster's school-record 16 strikeouts before the Cavs homered three times to win game two 8-3. The Eagles also left 12 base runners stranded in game two.
"Anything she threw, she had total command of," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "She kept batters off balance, and when all your pitches are working, you can do that. She didn't throw anything flat and was very difficult to hit today."
Game one: Carson-Newman 5, UVA-Wise 0
Carson-Newman got the party rolling right from the get go. Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) worked a one-out walk then Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) clobbered the first home run of her senior season, and her first in 47 at bats, into a stiff breeze and over the wall in straight away center field.
C-N added another run in the second when Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) lifted a soft pop up into no man's land in right to drive in Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) and make it 3-0 C-N.
The Eagles padded their lead in the fifth when Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) roped a bouncing ball over the third base bag to score Alex Kazee from two bases away and give the Eagles a 4-0 advantage.
Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) gave the Eagles some more cushion in the sixth with an RBI single up the middle.
While the Eagles pounded out 12 hits, it was Webster's pitching that was more impressive, school-record-breaking in fact. Webster carried a no-hitter into the sixth before giving up a double to Samantha Ely down the left field line.
She reset the program's single-game strikeout record with 16 Ks, besting Heather Randolph's 24-year-old record set against Belmont Abbey in 1992.
The Charlestown, Ind.-native moved to 6-4 on the season while Emily Kale took the loss for UVA-Wise to fall to 3-4.
Game two: UVA-Wise 8, Carson-Newman 3
Much like game one, Carson-Newman's offense started early. Toppel led off the inning with a single to right before moving to second on a Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) sacrifice. Dean thhen battled for a two-out base hit up the middle to make it 1-0 Eagles.
The lead would be short-lived. Erika McLaughlin and Delaney Turner hammered back-to-back home runs to put Wise up 4-1 before Zoe Millard cleared the bases with a two-RBI double as the Cavs batted around and hung a six spot on the Eagles.
The Cavs would push another run across in the third on a Zoe Millard single up the middle to make it 7-1.
C-N would get a run back in the fifth. Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.) hit a single through the left side with the bases loaded to push a run across. Boles couldn't keep the rally going as Hernandez robbed her of a base hit, leaping to snag a line drive a second and end the inning with the bases loaded.
Samantha Ely would re-extend the lead to six with a solo bomb to right center in the sixth.
Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) led off the seventh with a dinger for the Eagles, but that was the extent of the offense the Eagles could muster.
Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) took the loss for the Eagles to fall to 1-2. Delaney Turner got the win for the Cavs to improve to 3-1.
The Eagles are in action again Wednesday at Concord. First pitch from Athens, W.Va. is set for 1 p.m. Follow @cnathletics on Twitter for live updates.
