VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (28-16, 13-5 South Atlantic Conference) and Wingate (26-14, 11-7 SAC) split a fourth consecutive doubleheader at the Vickee Kazee Hollifield Softball Complex Saturday afternoon.
Carson-Newman appeared to be on its way to sweeping the Bulldogs after winning game one 1-0. The Eagles were up 2-0 in the sixth before Wingate pounded out 10 unanswered runs on the back of two home runs by Misty Doran to win game two running away 10-2.
"We took so many strikes today, it wasn't even funny," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Part of that, the credit goes to Wingate. But we have to stop looking at strikes. We hope we've recruited kids to be here who want to battle. I expect our kids to fight and scratch and claw. Sometimes I think we're lacking that. But we have to be sensible about it to. Wingate's a great hitting ball club, and we found a way to shut them down in game one, and hat's off to our kids for that. But they have to keep that going in game two."
Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) matched her own single-game school record for doubles by drilling a trio of two-baggers in game two. She plated both runs in the second game for the Eagles and scored the lone run in game one on a Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) double.
Game one: Carson-Newman 1, Wingate 0
Carson-Newman had an opportunity to score first in the second. Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) reached base on an error to start the inning, then Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) walked. A Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.) sacrifice moved the pair into scoring position before Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) worked a two-out walk.
However, a foul out to third ended the threat for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman put together a two-out rally in the fifth to score the first run of the day. Siebert ripped a ball up the right field line with two out for a base hit. Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) scored her a batter later with her second double of the season. She squeezed a ball inside the third-base bag that bounded down into the left field corner. It plated Siebert from three bases away and put C-N up 1-0.
Webster hurled a dandy for the Eagles. After runners reached third for the Bulldogs in the first and second, Webster settled down and only allowed one base runner the rest of the way. She retired the final 10 batters in order to collect her 21st complete game of the season and seventh shutout.
Webster fanned eight and only allowed three hits to improve to 18-8.
Stacy Houser took the loss for Wingate to fall to 15-11. The run she allowed in the fifth was the first run Carson-Newman had scored against her in 18 innings. She walked two and struck out four.
Game two: Wingate 10, Carson-Newman 8
Carson-Newman wasted little time scoring in game two. Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) ripped a one-out single trough the left side of the infield. Siebert scored her from three bases away with a double to the wall in left center field. That made it 1-0 Eagles.
The identical happened in the third. Jordan ripped a ball up the right field line for a one-out base hit. This time, Siebert pulled a ball into right that rolled into the right center gap to the wall and plated Jordan from three bases away. The RBI double gave C-N a 2-0 lead.
That lead would get erased in the sixth. Mellena Helms and Morgan Hendrix singled to right. Then Taylor Laskey was walked to load the bases. Misty Doran made the Eagles pay for that decision as she yanked a 1-0 pitch into the pine trees in right center for a grand slam that put the Bulldogs up 4-2.
Wingate padded its lead in the seventh with a six-run frame, including another Doran home run.
Webster took the loss after givin up up eight earned runs and nine runs in the last two innings to fall to 18-9.
Houser got the win in relief for Wingate. She twirled four innings of shutout, two-hit ball in relief of Rachel Weidner, who gave up four hits and two runs in the first three innings of the game.
Carson-Newman returns to action Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Red Edmonds Field to take on Tusculum. Coverage of the contests will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free audio stream at cneagles.com/live.
