via YouTube Capture
VIDEO: Vickee Hollifield Interview
ANDERSON, S.C. – Carson-Newman (32-8, 11-1 South Atlantic Conference) saw its 17-game win streak come to an end, but pulled through in the night cap to split a doubleheader with Anderson (30-10, 8-4 SAC) Tuesday afternoon at the AU Softball Complex.
The Eagles were shutout for the first time all season 2-0 to start the day before rallying for an 8-6 triumph in the night cap.
"I had been very pleased with our team because we hadn't spoken about the streak, we had been taking it one game at a time," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We knew that Anderson was explosive and that this was a tough place to play. I was so pleased with the way we fought back in game two. However, I wasn't pleased with game one, we looked at too many strikes."
The Eagles maintain their two-game lead on first place in the league standings thanks to Coker's sweep of Wingate. That sets up a one v. two matchup between the Eagles and Cobras this weekend.
Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) provided the spark for the Eagles in game two with a three-run home run, her second of the season.
"The timing of that was great," Kazee-Hollifield said. "If we hadn't done that in that any, I don't know if we would have had the fight that we had for game two. She has been instrumental our last three doubleheaders of giving our team a fighting chance at the plate."
GAME ONE: Anderson 2, Carson-Newman 0
Anderson grabbed the lead in game one with clutch hitting in the fourth. Breanna Hagerty hit a two-out bloop single to left center to set the stage for Augie Pena. The designated player double to the right center alleyway to score Hagerty from three bases away and give AU a 1-0 lead.
The Trojans added an insurance run the next half inning. After a leadoff double, Megan Majeski lifted a bloop single to right to plate Trudi Shuman and give AU a 2-0 lead.
Carson-Newman got the tying run on base in both the sixth and seventh innings, but never could collect a timely hit to tie the game. The Eagles were 0-for-13 with runners on base, and 0-8 with runners in scoring position.
C-N struck out a season high 14 times.
Randee Bettis got the win for AU to improve to 6-2. Her 14 Ks were a career high.
Lacie Rinus took the loss for the Eagles to drop to 16-4. She struck out eight and allowed six hits.
The Eagles left eight base runners stranded.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 8, Anderson 6
Anderson once struck first. This time, the Trojans wasted no time. AU got an infield single to short from Majeski and a ripper through the right side from Mattie Hamilton. That set the table for Cailah Niles, who crushed her 10th home run of the year to left field to give AU a 3-0 lead.
That lead would be short-lived, as C-N knotted the game a half inning later. Walks for Rinus and Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Eagles a pair of base runners. Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) helped out her own cause in the circle with a blast to left center field to tie the game at three apiece.
The Eagles then raced into the lead with a three-run third. Taylor Scott (Huntington, W.Va.) started the inning with a double to center. She scored when KaraLynne Levi (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) blooped a single to right to score Scott.
Following a Rinus double, Boles roped a single to left center that plated both Levi and Rinus and gave C-N a 6-3 edge.
The Eagles added an unearned run in the fourth on a Rinus infield single back to the circle to extend the lead to 7-3.
The Trojans got two runs back in the fifth. Kasey Grant ripped an RBI triple to right. Then Majeski reached on an error that Grant scored to make it a 7-5 ballgame.
The Eagles added a run back in the sixth. With runners on the corners Rinus perfectly executed a squeeze play to sacrifice in Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) from third base and extend the lead to 8-5.
The Trojans tacked on an RBI single from Niles in the seventh to set the final margin at 8-6.
Webster tallied the win in the circle to improve to 16-4. She narrowly missed out on double-digit Ks, finishing with nine. She allowed seven hits and five of the six runs scored against her were earned.
Augie Pena took the loss for Anderson to drop to 13-4. She gave up six runs and six hits in a 2.1-inning start. Lauren Rudesheim finished out the contest for Anderson. She allowed two unearned runs and two hits in 4.2 innings of action.
The Eagles are back in action Saturday at Coker in a matchup between the first place and second place teams in the league. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
