VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fourth-ranked Lincoln Memorial (24-1, 13-1 South Atlantic Conference) dealt Carson-Newman (15-7, 8-6 SAC) a pair of shutouts Tuesday afternoon in a twinbill at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
LMU took game one 2-0 before scoring four in the top of the seventh for a 7-0 win in the nightcap.
"I'm proud of our pitchers," Carson-Newman softball head coach Michael Graves said. "This was definitely the best Lacie Rinus has thrown this season. Hopefully we can build on that as a staff and move foward. You hate to try to change something from this game. We hit balls hard, they just made a lot of great plays in the outfield. Hats off to LMU for making plays. It might sound weird with us not scoring, but I'm proud of our offense and how we approached things at the plate."
The Railsplitters ran a scoreless string of innings out to 37 consecutive. A team hasn't scored on LMU since March 13.
Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) was a hard-luck loser twice. She fired 229 pitches through the twin bill and limited the conference's second-highest scoring offense to five runs between the two games.
LMU became the first team to blank C-N in both games of a doubleheader since losing 4-0 and 2-0 to Coker on April 8, 2018. The Eagles haven't suffered back-to-back shutouts at home in the last decade.
GAME ONE: #4 Lincoln Memorial 2, Carson-Newman 0
LMU grabbed an early lead thanks to Ty-Kella Goins. The senior slammed an 0-2 pitch over the wall in right to lead off the game with a home run, her fourth of the season.
LMU picked up some insurance in the top of the seventh. After Bella Buccellato led off the frame by getting plunked. Goins sacrificed her to second before Madison Henry drove her in with a double to the wall in right field for a 2-0 lead with one out in the seventh.
Carson-Newman only had two base runners on the day. Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led off the third with a walk while Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) broke up a no-hitter by slashing a single to left with two out in the sixth.
Rinus was the hard-luck loser, dropping to 5-5. She gave up four hits and two runs while walking three and striking out four.
Emma Frost dazzled in the win for LMU to improve to 10-1. She dealt the one-hit shutout while walking one and fanning six.
GAME TWO: Lincoln Memorial 7, Carson-Newman 0
Lincoln Memorial again started out with the lead. The Railsplitters grabbed an edge in the top of the third. Madison Henry, Emma Webb and Audrey Petoskey all singled to load the bases with one out.
A wild pitch scored Henry for a 1-0 lead. After a walk and the bases re-loaded, the Eagles defense settled back in. C-N got a fielder's choice as Sohm retired a runner at the plate and a Levi caught a pop up in foul ground to get out of the inning.
The Railsplitters padded their lead in the fourth. A bloop single to left from Bella Buccellato and infield singles from Sierra Hucklebee and Madison Henry loaded things up for the 'Splitters.
Emma Webb delivered a double back up the middle to score two and extend the LMU lead to 3-0.
LMU scored four more times in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI fielder's choice from Goins, a two-run triple from Hucklebee and an RBI double to left center from Webb to set up a 7-0 deficit.
Lacie Rinus took the loss to fall to 5-6. She dealt the first five innings, giving up nine hits and three runs. She walked three and fanned three.
Bailey Griffith logged her eighth win of the year, scattering five hits in the shutout.
Carson-Newman hits the road Saturday at Wingate.
