JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The 24th-ranked Carson-Newman softball team (7-1) picked up two wins over Georgia College (6-10) Thursday afternoon at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex in a matchup of two perennial regional powerhouse programs. C-N won by scores of 8-0 and 12-9.

“There are some teams that have played 12-14 games at this point, and this was game eight for us,” said Head Coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield. “It's just way early, but the kids were just so excited to play. I know it was cold and snowing this morning, but they were fired up ready to go. They had a couple of opportunities to just fold and give up, but I loved their fighting spirit.

“We are still learning our rotation a little bit. That's why we just need to play some more games so I will have a better feel for that. Hopefully we can get (Jennifer) Long in there and get her some innings and see how she works out too.”

With darkness swiftly approaching, Carson-Newman would have to score at least two to win the game, as they contest would have been called final with a tie result had the seventh frame ended knotted at eight. The Lady Eagles got four runs to win game two.

“There's no question it was important to get it in,” added Hollifield. “With the points that you get and the RPI and all that kind of stuff for playing that caliber of team. To sweep them is a huge accomplishment.”

Game One – Carson-Newman 8, Georgia College 0 (five innings) - Box Score
Carson-Newman got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with one run. After junior left fielder Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) drew a one-out walk, freshman catcher Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) singled to left field, driving Price home.

The Lady Eagles got another run in the bottom of the second to make the score 2-0 when sophomore right fielder Cassidy Skeen (Powell, Tenn.) hit an infield single to score junior centerfielder Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.)

Carson-Newman added two more runs in the third to push their lead to 4-0. The Lady Eagles’ breakout inning came in the fifth, when sophomore designated player Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) singled down the left field line to score Shoemake and Durham. Shealy completed her tour around the bases one batter later thanks to a triple by junior third baseman Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) to make the score 7-0.

Carson-Newman plated their final and game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth. After senior shortstop Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) singled up the middle and reached third thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Price and a subsequent wild pitch, Shoemake drove her home to force the eight-run advantage rule into effect.

Junior Ashley Boyd (Chattanooga, Tenn.) picked up the win in the circle to move to 4-0 on the year, scattering three hits over six innings of work and striking out three as the Bobcats failed to get a runner past second base in the first game of the afternoon. Georgia College’s Haley Burnett (Columbus, Ga.) fell to 4-4 with the loss, allowing six earned runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings with four strikeouts.

Game Two – Carson-Newman 12, Georgia College 9 - Box Score
The Lady Eagles got off to a good start for the second straight game, as Price was hit by a pitch and then driven home on a double by Shoemake, her fifth hit of the day.

Carson-Newman added six runs in the bottom of the fourth and looked to have the game under control. The inning featured a three-run triple to left centerfield by senior first baseman Sara Little (Calhoun, Ga.) and six total hits to take a 7-0 lead.

Georgia College’s bats warmed up on the frigid afternoon in the top of the fifth frame. After a leadoff walk, the Bobcats pounded out five straight hits, loading the bases with three runs already in. Two batters later, with two outs and the bases still loaded, Kayla Smith (Lexington, S.C.) hit a double to straight centerfield, scoring three. Two batters later, Georgia College scored their seventh and eighth runs of the inning on a triple by Belourse Jean-Francis (Naples, Fla.) for the 8-7 advantage.

C-N knotted the game at eight in the bottom of the sixth, Little drew a leadoff walk and sophomore Ashlee Dillard (Roanoke, Va.), who pinch ran for Little, reached second on a bunt by Boyd. Durham came up with a triple to right field. The Lady Eagles were unable to score another run in the inning.

The Bobcats got their final run of the game in the top of the seventh. After Burnett singled to left field, a double to right center by Allison Schwimmer (Cumming, Ga.) drove her home for the 9-8 lead.

With daylight waning in the bottom of the seventh, Carson-Newman had to score at least one run to keep the game from being called due to darkness. With Howard on first, a two-out double by Shoemake drove her home. Sophomore Kim Whaley (Maryville, Tenn.) then singled to third base, bringing up Boyd. With two on and two out and the score tied at nine, Boyd picked up the win on the mound and at the plate with a three-run shot to left field.

“That's the thing with Ashley Boyd. If you mess up, she's got a little pop behind the bat. She can put it over the fence. It was just such a team victory today,” continued Hollifield. “When you think about Durham leading off and getting the big base hit. It was just inning after inning that they did that. I was disappointed in blowing the seven-run lead. We've just got to get a little bit tougher in the fifth inning. We do real well until the fifth inning, and then we kind of just tail off. It doesn't matter if we are ahead or behind. That's something that we've got to get changed real quick.”

Boyd (5-0) got the win in three innings of relief while Burnett pitched the final 1.1 innings for Georgia College to fall to 4-5 on the season.

Shoemake finished the day seven-for-eight at the plate with four doubles and four RBI while Shealy was four-for-six with two double and three RBI as well.

“It was outstanding. You usually don't see that kind of day, but she's done that the last two or three outings,” concluded Hollifield. “What is so key, not only for Bri, when you have three, four and five hitting like they are, it's hard to go around one. That's a nice problem to have. I wish it was stay with us. I'm just proud of how hard they played.”

Carson-Newman will host Columbus State at home on Saturday in a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.