VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves logged his 100th career win as No. 25 C-N (28-10) split a doubleheader with Lee (19-16) Wednesday at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
"I really learned a lot from Vickee (Carson-Newman's long-time head softball coach who retired in 2018)," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We've had a lot of talent, and that's what the reason for this is. I've been fortunate to have been surrounded by good people, both players and coaches."
Carson-Newman won see-saw contest in game one 7-6 before Lee shut out the Eagles for the second time this season in the night cap with an 8-0 win in seven innings.
Lee tallied its fifth win this season over a nationally-ranked team.
"We never were in game two," Graves said. "They took what we gave them in the first inning of game two and then we never responded to it. We never gave ourselves a chance to get back into the game."
Senior second baseman Emily Harris moved into 25th all-time in NCAA Division II history by tallying four hits. She has 313 in her career, even with Nicole Sardelich of St. Mary's (Texas). She has four consecutive multi-hit efforts and was 4-for-6 for the doubleheader.
GAME ONE: No. 25 Carson-Newman 7, Lee 6
Carson-Newman got rolling early thanks to a pair of infield singles and a pair of steals from Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.). Hayden Dye screeched a two-out single to right to score both runs and stake C-N to a 2-0 lead after one.
It was Sohm and Harris once more setting the table for the Eagles in the third. Sohm singled to the pitcher before Harris squibbed one through the left side. Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) walloped an 0-2 pitch over the fence in center for her 12th home run of the year to give C-N a 5-0 lead.
Lee would get it all back in the top of the fourth. Ana Macha led off the inning with an inside-the-park home run to left before Sidney Lee and Janina Remley both hit solo shots to right and left center to pull the Flames within two. After an error and a walk, Laney Harris tied the game with two-out, two-RBI double to right center to score two unearned runs.
C-N answered immediately in the bottom of the fourth. After Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) led off the inning reaching on an error, Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) moved her into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) scored her with a laser beam single to right center to put C-N back up 6-5.
Lee answered in the top of the fifth. Macha singled up the middle to lead off the inning, took second on a wild pitch and third on a foul out. She scored when lee tripled off the wall in right to make it a 6-6 ball game.
The see-saw battle tipped back in the Eagles favor in the bottom of the fifth. Hughes snapped a one-out single to right center before a pinch-running Grace Laws (Palmersville, Tenn.) raced home from three-bases away on a Carmen Holt (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) double down the left field line to give C-N a 7-6 edge.
Sara King (Cumming, Ga.) picked up the win in a 5.1-inning start to move to 14-6 on the year. She gave up eight hits and six runs, four of which were earned. King walked three and fanned one.
NicKollette Ferguson (Erwin, Tenn.) got her first career save with 1.2 innings of shutout ball.
Madison Barnett dealt the complete game for Lee and dropped to 6-9 with the loss. She gave up 10 hits. Of the seven runs scored against her, six were earned.
GAME TWO: Lee 8, No. 25 Carson-Newman 0
Lee struck first in the night cap, loading the bases without and out. Javaria Smith smashed a single back up the box to score one, but Natalie Corbin (Tybee Island, Ga.) threw a seed to the plate to retire a potential second run at the plate. However, the Flames weren't done. A two-RBI single from Alexa Scalzo and a RBI single to left from Carissa Frost put the Flames up 4-0 after a half inning. Lee walked three times and had five hits in the opening inning.
A Salzo RBI single in the fifth stretched the lead to five before Lee put things out of reach in the seventh with Remley's second home run of the doubleheader and an RBI double for Harris to left that set the final margin at 8-0.
Carson-Newman was just 1-for-10 with runners on base and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the night cap.
Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) took the loss to fall to 8-3 with a 0.2-inning start. She gave up four hits and four runs all earned while walking three.
Nyah Vogel went the distance for the complete-game shutout to improve to 12-6. She didn't walk anyone and had one strikeout.
Carson-Newman's Saturday doubleheader with Anderson has been moved to April 21 due to the threat of snow and rain Saturday. C-N will play host to Queens at noon Sunday. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
