JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman softball team split a doubleheader with Wingate on Senior Day on Saturday to wrap up South Atlantic Conference play, falling in game one, 2-1, before rebounding to claim a 5-4 victory in game two at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
With the split, the Lady Eagles finish the regular season at 33-8 overall and 11-5 in the conference. The Bulldogs are now 33-13 on the season and 8-8 on SAC play.
In game one, C-N held a 1-0 lead through five innings of play, but Wingate tied the contest in the sixth. Gina Ager (Columbia, Md.) then drove home Jessica McCraw (Waxhaw, N.C.) with a single in the top of the seventh to lift the Bulldogs to a 2-1 win.
The Lady Eagles managed just four hits for the game. Sophomore Amy Lawrence (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the way with a pinch-hit RBI single.
Wingate tallied seven hits, including two each from LaRonda McClain (Kings Mountain, N.C.) and Leyila Myers (Marietta, Ga.).
Bulldogs starting hurler Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) worked all seven innings to earn the win. Blankenship (18-7) gave up four hits and one run and had a walk and one strikeout.
C-N starter Ashley Boyd (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was tagged with the loss. Boyd (18-4) surrendered five hits and two runs and had three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings in the circle.
In the second game, the Lady Eagles built a 5-1 lead but had to hold off a late Wingate rally to come away with a 5-4 win.
C-N collected eight hits, as senior Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Boyd both went 3-for-3 to lead the way.
Wingate finished with nine hits. McClain, Myers and Emily Chavis (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) produced two hits apiece in the loss.
Sophomore Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) picked up the win for the Lady Eagles. Shealy (12-4) allowed nine hits and three earned runs and fanned seven in seven innings of work.
Wingate's Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) fell to 15-6 on the year after giving up three earned runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings in the circle. Smith also had four strikeouts.
C-N grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first. Howard led off the frame with a triple and later scored on a Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) groundout, and Sara Little (Calhoun, Ga.) also drove in a run on a groundout to give the Lady Eagles the two-run advantage.
The Lady Eagles pushed their lead to 4-0 in the third, as Shoemake produced a RBI single and Boyd delivered a run-scoring double.
Wingate tallied its first run of the contest in the fourth on a Myers RBI single, but C-N regained its four-run lead in the fifth on a RBI sacrifice fly by Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.).
The Lady Eagles carried a 5-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning, but Wingate gave C-N a scare with a two-out rally. Stephanie Simmons (Hickory, N.C.) delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, and Chavis drove home a pair of runs with a double to trim the Lady Eagles' lead to 5-4. However, Shealy retired the next batter to seal the win.
C-N returns to action on Thursday in the 2010 Food Lion SAC Tournament in Wingate, N.C.
