VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
VIDEO: Elayna Siebert Interview
VIDEO: Danielle Kranz Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (16-8, 2-0 South Atlantic Conference) used potent pitching and some powerful two-out bats to grab a doubleheader sweep of Queens (11-15, 0-2 SAC) Friday afternoon at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
The Eagles won game one 5-4 before exploding for an 8-1 win in the nightcap.
The doubleheader sweep marks Carson-Newman's first conference-opening doubleheader sweep since 2011 when the Eagles took both ends of a twinbill from Catawba. The wins also snap a three-doubleheader streak of splits for the Eagles.
"I'm a firm believer it starts and ends with pitching," head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Alli and Danielle were really on today. When they're really on, we have a chance to win any ball game."
Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) and Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) both twirled complete game gems on the day for the Eagles.
The Eagles were 4-for-8 at the plate with two outs in game two and 6-for-9 in RBI opportunities to cruise to the doubleheader sweep.
Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) went 4-for-7 with a pair of RBI. Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) jacked a grand slam home run – her sixth dinger of the season – to take over first place on the SAC home run chart this season, and Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) clobbered her second round-tripper of the season in game two.
Game one: Carson-Newman 5, Queens 4
Carson-Newman began its day offensively by leaving two runners stranded in both the first and second innings. Three out of the four runners were left in scoring position.
The Eagles would break through in the third. After the bases were loaded thanks to bases on balls for Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) and Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) sandwiched around an Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) double to the right field wall.
Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.) then reached on an RBI error to third that saw Jordan score before Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) clobbered a grand slam tater to centerfield to make it 5-0.
The grand slam was Carson-Newman's first since Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) went yard for a grand slam at Clark Atlanta. The home run was also the sixth of the year for Dean, moving her into first place in the SAC standings for that stat.
After a pair of scoreless frames, Queens countered in the sixth. Taylor Rosenbalm doubled to left center and came in to score on a Jasmyn Lindsay single to right.
A throwing error at short and a fielder's choice gave the Royals a pair on the paths for Ashton Whitaker who yanked a ball over the right field fence to bring Queens within a run 5-4 with a three-run bomb.
However, Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) was able to shut down the Royals in the seventh with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to end the game.
Webster went the distance to get the win (9-4). She allowed eight hits and four runs, three of which were earned. She also struck out seven.
Lyndey McCurry got the loss for the Royals (6-6). She gave up five runs, four earned against six hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Game two: Carson-Newman 8, Queens 1
Queens got the scoring started in game two in the second. Whitaker doubled to left center to lead off the inning and scored on a Taylor Cheek fielder's choice to second base.
Kranz got out of a jam with two runners in scoring position to limit the damage to a run with a strikeout to end the inning.
Carson-Newman's offense got on track its second time through the order. In the third, the Eagles got runners on first and second with a hit batsman in Andi Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) and a walk to Jordan.
That set the stage for Siebert to break up Catelyn Presley's no-hit bid with a single up the middle. That scored Jordan, with a throwing error by the centerfielder Samantha Martinez allowing Jordan and Siebert to advance into scoring position.
Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) made the Royals pay for that error as she belted a two-RBI double off the wall in left center to plate both Jordan and Siebert, giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead. All three runs in the inning for the Eagles came with two out.
The Eagles added insurance to their lead in the fifth with a Siebert RBI single to right to push the lead to 4-1. However, Carson-Newman's Dean lined into a double play with the bases loaded to end the inning before the Eagles could add further damage.
Carson-Newman further padded its lead in the sixth. Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) clobbered a three-run homer to left center and Dean hit an RBI single to right to push the lead to 8-1. Siebert tried to end the game early on that play, but got caught in a 9-2-5 run down trying to come home.
Kranz went the distance to get the win for the Eagles (2-3). She only allowed three hits and struck out two.
Catelyn Pressley was shackled with loss for Queens. She gave up four runs, three earned, and four hits in 4.1 innings of her start before giving way to Evie Scott.
Carson-Newman returns home Monday to face Mars Hill. First pitch with the Lions is 2 p.m. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live.
