VIDEO: Vickee Hollifield Interview
VIDEO: Taylor Scott Interview
MARS HILL, N.C. - Carson-Newman (23-7, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) matched its longest win streak of the season and won two at Mars Hill (7-19, 0-4 SAC) for the first time since 2006 with two 9-2 wins over the Lions Wednesday afternoon at Ponder Field.
"We played all around good ball today," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "We were aggressive at the plate, and then made some tough infield ground balls look routine. Toppel and Fiessinger were a black hole up the middle today."
The Eagles tallied 19 hits through the doubleheader and played error free for a fourth straight game.
Carson-Newman also won nine games consecutively in the middle of February.
Game one: Carson-Newman 9, Mars Hill 2
Carson-Newman wasted little time in opening up the scoring. The Eagles loaded the bases with one out with a walk, an E6 and a base hit. Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) helped out her own cause with an RBI fielder's choice off the pitcher to put C-N up 1-0.
The Eagles padded the lead in the second. Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) doubled off the wall in right center to score one with one out and give the Eagles a pair of base runners in scoring position.
With two out, Taylor Scott (Huntington, W.Va.) snapped an 0-for-9 string at the plate with a three-run jack over the wall in left. It was her fourth home run of the season and gave C-N a 5-0 lead.
Mars Hill got a run back in the bottom of the second when Addison Harris yanked a one-out solo home run down the right field line to bring the Lions within four runs.
The Lions tallied another in the bottom of the third when Casey Stanek cranked her first home run of the season, a two-out solo shot, over the wall in right center.
The Eagles pushed the lead back to five runs in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners, KaraLynne Levi (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) hit a line drive to center to score Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.). The Lions centerfielder misplayed it to allow Scott to score from first and extended the Eagles lead to 7-2.
A pair of RBI singles pushed the C-N lead to seven in the fifth. Fiessinger drove in her second run of the day with an RBI, infield single to short. Scott followed that up with an RBI base hit up the gut. It was 9-2 in favor of C-N when the dust settled.
Rinus got the win in the circle for C-N to improve to 12-3. She struck out 10 and didn't walk anyone. Aside from the home runs, Mars Hill didn't see a base runner reach third on the day.
Sydney Elkin was shackled with the loss for the Lions. She hurled her fourth complete game of the season but fell to 3-6. She allowed 11 hits and nine runs, six of which were earned.
Scott, Fiessinger, Levi and Webster all tallied multi-hit performances for the Eagles. Scott and Fiessinger had multi-RBI days.
Game two: Carson-Newman 9, Mars Hill 2
Carson-Newman wasted little time in grabbing a lead in game two. The Eagles loaded the bases with no one out thanks to two walks and an error. Carson-Newman scored the first two runs of the game on RBI fielder's choices by Rinus and Levi. Scott then came into score from third when Rinus swiped second and a high throw from the catcher sent the ball all the way to centerfield.
Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) had the lone hit of the inning. She drove a two-run homer to right center to give C-N a 5-0 advantage.
Mars Hill chipped into Carson-Newman's lead in the fourth. The Lions rapped out a trio of two-out hits. Krista Romine's double to left center scored two runs and brought the Lions within three, 5-2.
The Eagles got those two runs back when they came up in the top of the fifth. Toppel led off the inning with a single before stealing second. Scott ripped a ground ball through the left side of the infield to score her before taking second on the throw. Scott scored when Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove her in on a single to center. That extended the lead back to five, 7-2, for the Eagles.
Boles rounded out the scoring in the seventh for the Eagles with a one-out, two-RBI double that was smashed to the right center alleyway.
Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) snagged the win for the Eagles to improve to 11-4. She struck out eight and walked two.
Shelby Culler took the loss in 4.1 inning start for the Lions to fall to 2-6. She gave up seven runs, three earns with three walks against one strikeout.
The Eagles are back in action at home Saturday against Catawba. First pitch against the Indians is set for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available at cneagles.com/live
