VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Morgen Baker-Celis Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (32-14, 12-10 South Atlantic Conference) got 13 innings and 198 pitches worth of two-run ball from senior hurler Morgen Baker-Celis (Kentfield, Calif.) en route to a split with No. 13 Anderson (37-7, 20-4 SAC) Thursday at The Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
Carson-Newman pounded out 12 hits and eight runs en route to snapping an eight-game losing streak against nationally-ranked opposition with an 8-1 win in the opener. Then Anderson pitcher Laken Maxwell struck out 11 and allowed one ball hit to the outfield in a 1-0 win for the Trojans.
"This was just two games between two really good teams," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "It was high level softball played by both teams. Both teams made good plays. We really hit the ball well in game one. In game two, we had some opportunities, but Laken Maxwell is a really good pitcher and she certainly did the job in the night cap."
The seven-run win goes down as Michael Graves largest margin of victory against a ranked foe. The Eagles' four previous wins under Graves against ranked teams had all been one-run wins.
The Trojans secured the outright regular season SAC title and the number one seed for the SAC tournament with the win in the nightcap.
Carson-Newman's win assures it a spot in the league's tournament.
Baker-Celis struck out 10 in her 13 innings of work in the circle while making her first two starts of the season.
"Morgen has pitched well in relief here of late," Graves said. "She pitched well last year against them at their place. Our game plan was to throw her as long as she could go, and she did a fine job keeping them off balance for 13 innings today."
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 8, No. 13 Anderson 1
Carson-Newman used its speed to put pressure on the Trojans and grab a lead in the first. Natalie Corbin (Tybee Island, Ga.) led off the game with a double and moved to third on a Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) RBI groundout.
Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) hit a ground ball to second. Jessica Neadow came home with the throw to try to get Corbin, but her toss was late to allow Corbin to score to put the Eagles up 1-0.
Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) kept the line moving slashing a double to the right center field alleyway before a Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) single coupled with an error set the Eagles up 3-0 after an inning.
The Eagles kept it up in the bottom of the second. Natalie Corbin poked a one-out single to short. She stole second and moved to third on a Sohm ground out. Harris produced the run with a base hit through the left side with two out to give C-N a 4-0 lead.
Kayson Boatner got the Trojans on the board when she clobbered her SAC-record 23rd home run of the season off a low change up onto the roof of the hitting facility in left to bring the deficit to three, 4-1 in the top of the fifth.
C-N pounded out strong two out hits in the sixth to grab some insurance. Harris and Hughes slashed back-to-back two-out doubles before Dye pushed a run-scoring single for a four-run frame and an 8-1 lead.
Baker-Celis picked up the five-hit complete-game win. She fanned seven and didn't walk or hit a batter.
Harlie Duncan took the loss to fall to 16-3. She gave up 12 hits and eight runs while walking one and fanning two.
Corbin collected her first career four-hit day, while Harris drove in four to match a career high to pace the offense.
GAME TWO: No. 13 Anderson 1, Carson-Newman 0
A pitcher's duel through six innings, Anderson got all the offense it would need on a Morgan Charter lead-off home run to left center field to start the sixth inning.
Carson-Newman only had four base runners on the day, but had a runner at second base each time it got someone on, with the exception of the seventh. The Eagles were 0-for-4 in the scant opportunities they had with a runner in scoring position.
Maxwell improved to 20-4 with the win. Her 11 strikeouts are the most by an opposing pitcher against C-N this year. She is the third opposing pitcher to hurl a shutout against the country's fifth-highest scoring offense. Of the 10 outs Maxwell didn't record via a strikeout, only one – a Macey Hughes fly out to center, was recorded outside the infield.
The Eagles celebrate Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m. against No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
