VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman starting pitcher Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) came within a strikeout of matching her own single-game program record as the Eagles tallied a doubleheader split Wednesday night at Tusculum (20-30, 5-15 SAC).
The Eagles' (29-17, 14-6 SAC) starting pitcher tossed 15 Ks in a 10-inning, complete game win to start the day in a 7-5 win, before the Eagles fell in the nightcap 7-2.
"Alli showed the grit to help us to win game one," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "Game one, we did enough to compete to get the win. But it's more of the same, we just don't finish. We did not bring the same intensity in game two as we did in game two. I don't see the same fight in game two, and that's what's most frustrating."
Webster's 15 punchouts are the second most all-time at Carson-Newman, second only to her 16-K performance earlier this season at UVA-Wise.
Game one: Carson-Newman 7, Tusculum 5 (10 innings)
Carson-Newman struck first and did so by only putting the bat on the ball successfully once. A walk to Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) and a fielder's choice for Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Eagles a pair of base runners with one out.
Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) came through with the clutch hit on a flair down the leftfield line to score Jordan from two bases away and give C-N an initial 1-0 lead.
After Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) reached on an error to load the bases, Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) then worked a nine-pitch, bases-loaded walk to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Tusculum countered in the first with a run. Emily Hester scored Miranda Beeler on a single to center to halve the Eagles lead to 2-1.
The Eagles pushed the lead back to two in the second. Jordan laced a two-out double to the wall in left center and then scored when Siebert reached base on an error for a school-record 15th time this season.
Tusculum knotted things up in the fourth on a two-run home run from Jordan Keene to left field, making it a 3-3 ballgame.
Carson-Newman put together a two-out rally in the fifth to retake the lead. Dean singled through the left side to lead off the inning before Alex Kazee pinch ran for her. A Webster sacrifice moved her to second.
After a strikeout, Donna Ryan (Orlando, Fla.) walked to give the Eagles a pair of runners on base. Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.) came through with a two-out, two-RBI double over the head of the leftfielder Keene to score Kazee and Ryan. Carson-Newman left the bases loaded in the inning, but the Eagles led when the dust cleared 5-3.
The Pioneers got a two-out rally of their own in the sixth. After Stoner was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Taylor Lewis pinch ran for her and stole second. A walk gave the Pioneers a pair on base for Morgan Ward, who delivered her first hit of the season with a runner in scoring position to plate Lewis and make it 5-4.
Tusculum got more clutch two-out hitting in the seventh to extend the game. Carolyn Williamson singled up the middle with two out and took second on a passed ball. Robin Stoner delivered the game-tying base hit with another single up the middle off a 3-2 pitch before Webster struck out her 10th batter of the day to keep the game tied.
Carson-Newman grabbed the lead in the top of the 10th. After Janelle Benzick (Virginia Beach, Va.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Fiame at third. Toppel looped a blooper to left to score the go-ahead run. Toppel would then move to second on a wild pitch, third on a fly ball and score on an error at short on a Siebert at bat.
A trio of fly outs ended the Tusculum threat in the bottom of the 10th.
Webster hurled 156 pitches and struck out 15 – the second most in a single game in Carson-Newman history – to get the win and move to 19-9 on the year. She pitched all 10 innings in the win, the first time an Eagle has gone past nine innings since she pitched nine innings in a loss to Limestone in February.
Eliza Davis, Tusculum's third pitcher, took the loss for the Pioneers. She worked the final three innings, giving up two hits and two runs, both of which were unearned.
Carson-Newman left 16 base runners stranded in game one.
Game two: Tusculum 7, Carson-Newman 2
Tusculum again scored in the first inning in game two. Lead-off singles from Beeler and Williamson, plus a sacrifice from Stoner gave the Pioneers a pair of runners in scoring position. Keene then delivered a two-out base hit up the middle to plate both base runners and give TC a 2-0 edge.
Tusculum added four more runs in the second inning off of one hit to go ahead 6-0. Four walks and a pair of fielder's choices marred the inning for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman finally cracked the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Donna Ryan (Orlando, Fla.) led off the inning with a double to left center. She scored when Toppel squeezed a ball through the left side of the infield. The Eagles trailed by five, 6-1.
The Eagles got another run back in the sixth. Fiame lifted a two-out pitch to left and moved over two bases on a throwing error by Taylor Battle in left. She scored on a Davis wild pitch to bring the Eagles within four.
A throwing error in the bottom of the sixth pushed TC's lead back to five, 7-2.
Davis got the win for TC. She moves to 10-15 with the complete-game victory. Davis scattered six hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Danielle Kranz (Fairfield, Calif.) took the loss for C-N. She allowed seven hits and six walks. She gave up four runs, only one of which was earned.
The Eagles will honor Siebert, Fiame and Hayley Burnette (Rossville, Ga.) Saturday on senior day against Lenoir-Rhyne. Coverage of the games will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream starting at 1 p.m. at cneagles.com/live.
