VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Game One Highlights
VIDEO: Game Two Highlights
VIDEO: Trinity Brooks Interview
VIDEO: Brooke Matyasovsky Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (16-10, 6-0 South Atlantic Conference) ran its winning streak to seven straight and stayed perfect in SAC play with a sweep of Mars Hill (9-15, 0-6 SAC) Saturday afternoon at The Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
Carson-Newman won game one 8-0 via the run rule before getting the timely knocks for an 8-4 triumph in the night cap.
"It's nice to find ways to score when we aren't hitting to our capabilities," head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We've taken twice as many walks as we have struck out. That was critical to work some free passes, especially in game one. Hayden and Brooke came up huge in game two. I thought Trinity Brooks did a nice job. It was a good team effort today especially when you consider how dinged up we are."
Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) became the 14th player in school history with 20 career home runs, she hit her league-leading 10th in the night cap. Matyasovsky had four hits in the twinbill, all for extra bases. Her other three knocks were all doubles.
Carson-Newman was 11-for-31 with runners on base for the doubleheader, a .354 average.
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 8, Mars Hill 0 (five innings)
Carson-Newman grabbed the lead in unconventional fashion. With one out, the Eagles loaded the bases with a hit batter, an error and a walk. Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) got plunked on her left elbow on the first pitch of her at bat to drive in the game's first run. Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) followed with a sacrifice fly to right center to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead after one without a hit.
The Eagles used more small-ball tactics to add to their lead in the third. Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) led off the inning with a double to left center before Warder dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move her to third. Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) scored Matyasovsky with a sacrifice fly in foul ground down the left field line. That gave C-N a 3-0 lead through three.
C-N struck for three in the fourth. Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) and Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) led off the inning with a base hit and a walk. A sacrifice bunt moved the pair into scoring position. Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) scored both runners with a ball deep into the hole at second. After another Matyasovsky double, Dye scored on an RBI-groundout to first from Lucero to give C-N a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles walked it off via the run rule in the bottom of the fifth. Vandergriff walked to lead off the inning before Brooks singled to right. Martin drove in the seventh run of the game with a base hit to right center, plating Vandergriff. Martin and Brooks then executed a double steal to walk it off with an 8-0 run-rule win.
Emma Frost (Morristown, Tenn.) logged the complete-game shutout for C-N. She gave up three hits and struck out four.
Kayla Gallagher took the loss for Mars Hill, falling to 3-7 with the defeat. She worked the first 4.0 innings, allowing four hits and six runs, four of which were earned. She gave up seven free passes, three walks and four hit batters.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 8, Mars Hill 4
Carson-Newman struck first in the nightcap with a two-out rally. Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) singled down the left field line with two outs. Dye kept the rally rolling with her seventh home run of the year. She tanked a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right center on a frozen rope to give C-N a 2-0 lead.
C-N put together another two-out rally in the second for two more runs. Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) smoked a one-out double to the left centerfield alleyway. After a ground out, Vandergriff hit a double to the identical spot to extend the lead to 3-0. Martin followed with a bouncing ball back up the box into center to score Vandergriff and make it a 4-0 lead.
The Lions answered with three in the top of the third. With Leah Grimes at third after a sacrifice bunt, MHU scored its first run thanks to a Peyton Little single up the middle. Maia Sholter followed with a double to the wall in left center before scoring on a Jessica Senn sacrifice fly to center to make it a 4-3 ball game.
The Eagles answered with two more runs in the bottom of the third. Dye walked and Matyasovsky hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to give C-N to in scoring position with no one out. Lucero drove in the pair with a single to right to stretch the lead to 6-3.
C-N got two more with a two-out long ball in the sixth. Matyasovsky blasted a 1-1 pitch to left center to stretch the lead to 8-3.
MHU set the final margin with an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh.
The Lions had the bases loaded in four different innings in the night cap, but only managed one run out of the situations – the RBI groundout in the seventh.
Kayleigh Bowers (Stephensville, Texas) got the win in relief to improve to 5-3. Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) started and went 1.1 innings, leaving with the lead. However, she didn't hit the pitching minimum to qualify for the win. Bowers went 1.2 innings with three hits and three runs allowed.
Blythe Freeman took the loss for MHU to fall to 5-5. She started and pitched the first 2.0 innings, allowing six hits and six runs, all earned.
Carson-Newman returns home Tuesday to take on UVA Wise at 1 p.m. Coverage is available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live. A video stream can be found with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloSB.
