ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – Carson-Newman (10-2) extended its win streak to five straight games by taking a tight contest from West Alabama (2-5) and a run-rule win from Miles (1-5) Sunday on the final day of the Charger Chillout at Sand Mountain Park.
"This was a great weekend with a good bunch of girls," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "They played hard and really well through below freezing temps and 15-20 mph winds this weekend. We saw some good pitching and some good teams. I'd love to have back the extra inning loss, but we are also really happy with a 5-1 record down here."
Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) powered a Carson-Newman offense that stole seven bases on the day and hit eight doubles from seven different players.
Dye was 3-for-6 at the plate and drove in two runs. All three of Dye's hits were for extra bases (two doubles and a triple). Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) had the high water mark for RBI with three between the two games.
Carson-Newman's pitching staff didn't surrender an earned run on the day. Sara King (Cumming, Ga.) dealt nine innings on the day with 11 strikeouts and five hits allowed. She only walked two.
Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) didn't allow a hit and struck out seven in three innings of work, but did walk four.
"Sara pitched great against a good West Alabama team that had faced great competition coming into this weekend," Graves said. "Hayden continues to kill the ball and spark us. Our middle infielders made great plays all weekend. Mary (Vandergriff) was a tough out all weekend."
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 3, West Alabama 1
Carson-Newman scored first without getting a hit. After back-to-back strikeouts to open the game, Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) earned a base on balls. Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) sent a deep fly ball to center that the West Alabama defender misplayed. The E8 allowed Harris to race home and give C-N a 1-0 lead off an unearned run.
The Eagles added to it with another unearned run in the third. Natalie Corbin (Tybee Island, Ga.) walked to lead off the inning before Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) nipped an infield single to third.
The pair moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Corbin scored on a Dye sacrifice fly to left that put C-N up 2-0.
The Tigers got an unearned run of their own in the bottom of the third to cut the lead back to one. Casey Matlock hit a two out single to right. Then promptly stole second and scored on a throwing error by Ruthie Allen (Cumming, Ga.).
The Eagles stretched it back to a two-run lead in the top of the fifth. Harris doubled to left center with one out and took third on a dropped third strike the next at-bat.
Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) delivered the insurance run with an RBI single to right for a 3-1 lead that would stick for the final margin.
Sara King (Cumming, Ga.) went the distance for the win to improve to 6-0 on the year. She gave up four hits and the one run she allowed was unearned. King only walked one while striking out seven.
UVA pitcher Heather Maynard fell to 1-1 in the loss. She posted big strikeout numbers with 11 K, but walked three and gave up eight hits. Of the three runs C-N scored, only one was earned.
In her first game batting in the order, Allen tallied a multi-hit day, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Harris also had multiple hits.
The lower portion of West Alabama's lineup went 0-for-10 at the plate.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 11, Miles 2 (five innings)
Carson-Newman wasted little time in taking a lead on the Golden Bears with an RBI single from Emily Harris and a pair of RBI doubles from Dye and Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) set the Eagles on the front foot with a 4-0 lead after one.
The Eagles exploded for six runs in the third. Dye and Hughes started the inning with back-to-back doubles to score the first run before Vandergriff drove in the second with an RBI ground out.
With two runners in scoring position, SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) roped a double to left to plate both runners and extend the edge to 8-0. A run-producing error and an RBI ground out gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead.
Miles got two unearned runs across in the fourth thanks to a throwing error and a bases-loaded walk.
The Eagles set the final margin in the fifth with an RBI groundout from Addison Lowe (Sweetwater, Tenn.).
Rogers logged the win to move to 2-1 with a 3.0-inning start. She didn't allow a hit, but walked four and struck out seven. Both runs that scored were attributed to her, but were unearned.
Sakayla Terry took the loss to fall to 1-1 with a 2.1-inning start. She gave up five hits and eight runs, seven earned. She walked four.
Carson-Newman returns home Friday for games against King and West Virginia State in the Eagle Invitational.
