VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-3) recovered from two sixth-inning deficits to beat North Greenville twice Wednesday afternoon at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
C-N walked off in game one with a 3-2 win on an RBI double from Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.). Carson-Newman trailed 7-6 in the sixth inning of the night cap, but scored nine times in the bottom half of the inning to win in walk-off, run-rule fashion 15-7.
"I was disappointed in our first 12 innings today," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We were very fortunate to win game one, and to be fair, the mark of a good team is that you'll find ways to win ugly games and those were two ugly games that we won today. I'm proud that they came back to get the wins, but we just didn't seem to have the same fire that we did on Saturday."
Carson-Newman issued 15 free passes between the two games, but did play error free for a ninth and 10th straight game en route to running its winning streak to nine straight.
The Eagles have won six straight games in the series versus NGU.
Natalie Corbin (Tybee Island, Ga.) logged a pair of multi-hit games. She was 5-for-8 at the plate. Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) drove in four runs. Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) was 4-for-8 at the plate with a double.
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 3, North Greenville 2
North Greenville grabbed the lead in the top of the first without logging a hit. Lexis Wilkinson and Claire Gilmore both walked and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Josie Reed then drove in Wilkinson with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead after a half inning.
The Crusaders padded the lead in the fourth. Grayce Black nipped a one-out single down the left field line then scored from three bases away on a Taylor Koon double to the wall in left.
Carson-Newman was able to use the long ball to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) roped a lead off single to right center and moved to second on a fielding error in center.
It really didn't matter which base she was on, because Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) bounced a 2-1 pitch off the top of the wall in left center and out of the park for a two-run blast that put C-N even with NGU 2-2.
C-N would walk it off in the bottom of the seventh. A one-out walk to Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) and an infield single to short for Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) gave the Eagles a pair of base runners. A batter later, Dye lofted a ball over the head of the right fielder and all the way to the wall. Sohm scored standing to give the Eagles their second walk-off win of the year.
Sara King (Cumming, Ga.) logged the win in relief. She moved to 10-1 with the win. King made all the outs in the game after Rogers got the start and walked the first two batters she faced. King gave up five hits and a run with two walks and three strikeouts.
Bailey Pace took the loss for NGU to drop to 2-8. She gave up 10 hits. All three runs that scored against her were earned while she walked three and struck out two.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 15, North Greenville 7 (six innings)
North Greenville would once again take advantage of free bases in the top of the first. A pair of two-out walks set the table for Virginia Bishop, who slashed a single to right to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.
Carson-Newman scored four times in the bottom of the second inning off just one hit. North Greenville pitching issued six free passed in the inning with five walks and a hit batter. Three straight walks loaded the bases before the Crusaders recorded an out. A one-out walk to Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisey, Tenn.) tied the game before SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) knocked an infield single to short to give C-N the lead. Corbin got plunked and Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) drew the final walk of the inning to give the Eagles a 4-1 after two.
The Crusaders got one run back in the top of the third. Back-to-back walks started the frame for the Crusaders before a wild pitch moved the pair of runners into scoring position. Jenna Hewes poked a deep fly ball to center to allow a run to tag up and score to make it 4-2.
North Greenville got all the way back in the top of the fifth. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Crusaders. RBI singles from Koon and Aschlyn Hutton tied the game, before NGU took the lead when Hewes scored on a wild pitch.
Claire Gilmore looped a bases-clearing triple to give the Crusaders a 7-4 lead after 4.5 innings.
Carson-Newman got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-RBI single for Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) squeezed down the left field line.
The Eagles retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Natalie Corbin tied it after she led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on a throwing error. Carson-Newman would score eight more times in the inning to end it early via the run rule.
Carmen Holt (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) pushed C-N in front with an RBI single to left before Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) scored two more with a double to right.
A bases-loaded walk, a passed ball and a Corbin infield single put the Eagles within striking distance of the run rule, which Sohm provided for by driving in two with a groundout.
Morgen Baker-Celis (Kentfield, Calif.) picked up her second win of the season in a 1.2-inning relief effort. She gave up two hits and struck out two.
Gore took the loss for the Crusaders. She pitched 4.0 innings and gave up eight hits and eight runs, all earned.
Carson-Newman walked 10 times in the game, tied for the fourth most in a single game in school. The Eagles' pitching also issued 11 free passes – the second most in school history.
Carson-Newman opens SAC play Thursday at noon against Mars Hill from The Vick. Coverage will be available at cneagles.com/live.
