GREENWOOD, S.C. – Carson-Newman (10-1) left no doubt in game one and pulled off a rally for the ages in the nightcap to take two wins home from the Bearcat/Fleet Invitational Saturday morning.
The Eagles prevailed in game one 11-2 over USC Beaufort (4-3) in five innings. The Eagles were being no-hit in the nightcap until the fifth, but managed to rally for a 5-4 walk-off win over Emmanuel (2-5).
"We had to get up at 4:45 to get to the field to play at 9," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "I cannot tell you how happy I am with the way we came out of the gates given our circumstances. The best thing about this lineup is it seems it has been several different players come up big in huge moments when we needed a jump start. I am high on my little freshman Abbi Martin. That should be obvious in the faith I had in her to put her in with the game on the line. To have her off the bench in that spot shows you how talented and deep this team is."
Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) delivered a walk-off single in the nightcap to highlight a twinbill where the Eagles socked six home runs. Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) hit a pinch-hit inside-the-park home run, while Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.), Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.), Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) and Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) all left the yard. Bailey did so twice, once in each game. Hughes hit her 20th career home run, the 12th player in school history to hit that mark.
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 11, USC Beaufort 2 (five innings)
Carson-Newman pounced on USC Beaufort early and often. The Eagles scored six runs before the first out of the game was recorded.
It started with the long ball for Carson-Newman. A SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) single and Lilly Holston (Powell, Tenn.) walk put two on for Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) the junior bashed her 20th career home run down the left field line and into the parking lot to give Carson-Newman a 3-0 edge. Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) and Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) followed suit with singles before Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) plopped one over the wall in straight away center for give C-N a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles kept the party rolling in the second. A Cameron single and a Hughes walk gave the Eagles two baserunners with one out. Bailey slashed a double down the left field line to plate both before coming around to score on a Matyasovsky double off the wall in right center. Once more, Warder rounded out the scoring, this time with a single to short that gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead after two.
The Sandsharks got a run back in the third. Daryn Miller knocked a two-out double to right center before Ashlyn Alte scored her with a single back up the box to make it 10-1.
USC Beaufort got the deficit down to eight runs in the top of the fourth when Mackenzie Freeman poked a home run to center to make it 10-2, Eagles.
GET ���� THE ���� PINK ���� HAT@kennyw33 tees off
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 18, 2023
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Bailey pushed the lead back to nine runs in the bottom of the fourth, with a one-out solo home run down the left field line to set the final margin at 11-2.
Riley Sikes (Powell, Tenn.) locked up the win to improve to 2-0. She fired the first four innings of the game, allowing six hits and two runs, both earned. She struck out three and didn't walk a batter. Hailey Leslie (Cleveland, Tenn.) finished out the game with an inning of one-hit, shutout ball.
Cassidy Toole took the loss for USCB. She didn't record an out and gave up five hits with six earned runs in falling to 1-2.
Bailey, Warder, Matyasovsky and Cameron all logged multi-hit days for C-N. Bailey was 3-for-3. Bailey, Warder and Hughes all drove in at least three runs, with Warder bringing in four.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 5, Emmanuel 4
It took until the fourth inning, but Emmanuel was the first to break through with timely, two-base hits. Alyssa Adams ignited the rally with a two-out single before Abigail Curry scored her from three bases away with a wall-banger to left field.
The Lions played add on in the top of the fifth with back-to-back doubles from Ashley Cheney and Kinsley Goolsby. The RBI knock from Goolsby extended the lead to 2-0, then she scored on an RBI single to left center from Jaryn Gibson that gave the Lions a 3-0 lead and chased starter Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) from the game.
Carson-Newman broke up the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth. Bailey hit the launching pad for the fifth time this season with a leadoff solo blast to left to bring Carson-Newman within two runs, 3-1.
We have got ourselves a pinch-hit, inside-the-park home run. @MariRobbins05 makes it a two-run game.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 18, 2023
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Emmanuel got that run back in the top of the seventh on a Harrison RBI single, but that only set the stage for C-N's bottom of the seventh dramatics.
Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) ripped a pinch-hit, inside-the-park home run down the left field line to get C-N within two, then, after a Hughes infield single, Matyasovsky parked on in the parking lot beyond left to tie the game 4-4.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 18, 2023
TIE GAME. @brookematy to the parking lot
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After a ground out put the second out of the inning on the board, Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) reached on an error at short to extend the game. Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) kept the rally rolling with a bloop double to put the pair in scoring position.
That set the stage for freshman pinch hitter Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.). She ripped a two-strike offering back up the box to score Dye and hand Carson-Newman a win in a game in which they were outhit 13-6 and didn't register a base runner until the fifth.
NicKollette Ferguson (Erwin, Tenn.) picked up the win in relief. She moves to 2-0 after throwing the final 2.2 innings. She gave up four hits and run.
THE FRESHMAN
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 18, 2023
Walk it off, why don't ya @abbimartin10
Eagles score 4️⃣ times in the seventh to come back and beat Emmanuel
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Maddie Edwards went the distance for Emmanuel to fall to 0-1. She gave up six hits and five runs, four earned.
Carson-Newman took advantage of what few opportunities it had. The Eagles didn't leave a runner on base. Granted Carson-Newman didn't have an actual base runner until the seventh inning. Emmanuel left nine runners stranded.
Carson-Newman is in action Wednesday at Mars Hill in its league opener. Coverage will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
