WINGATE, N.C. – No. 17 Wingate (33-8, 13-3 SAC) cemented its spot atop the South Atlantic Conference standings by taking two from Carson-Newman (25-9, 10-6 SAC) Sunday afternoon at the WU Softball Complex.
The Bulldogs won game one in walk-off run rule fashion 12-4 before staving off a late C-N rally for a 9-6 win in the nightcap.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat anything and we didn't after the game in talks," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "I think we got beat in every facet of the game. I am proud of the fact that we came into the top of the seventh and put up a fight (of game two). That makes the coach proud when no matter how bad your day is going or what the score is that they are still trying to score runs.
"I do think we had some very good innings on the mound, but we know as a unit we have got to keep working to get better in that area of our game. We understand that there is nothing that we can do now about the past, but we do have eight more conference games that we can control what happens in them. I have a great group of girls and I know that they will continue working to be the best we can be come tournament time."
Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) extended her hitting streak to 16 straight games, matching the fifth-longest streak in school history.
Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) moved into the top 10 all-time in Carson-Newman history for home runs, hitting her 21st all-time. Hughes was also 3-for-6 at the plate with two doubles and a dinger.
GAME ONE: No. 17 Wingate 12, Carson-Newman 4 (five innings)
Wingate struck with a big crooked number in the first. After a leadoff walk, Savanna Brooks cranked a two-run home run to left center off a 1-2 pitch. The Bulldogs played add on, getting two more base runners off bases on balls. With two away, Hannah Stevens blooped a single into no man's land in center. With the runners on the move, two more scored on the soft flare into center to give Wingate a 4-0 lead after one.
The Eagles answered in the top of the second when Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) launched a 1-1 pitch over the fence in centerfield with two out to cut the deficit to 4-1.
C-N tied the game in the top of the third. Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) started the inning with an infield single to short and a single to left, respectively. After a line out, Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) reached on an error at short to load the bases.
Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) took advantage ripping a rise ball into left to drive in one. Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) brought in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to right before Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) leveled the score with a slash into right center to even the game 4-4.
Wingate retook the lead in the bottom of the third. Raelynn Kramer and Alyssa Hall tallied back-to-back knocks before an error at third allowed Kramer to streak in to put Wingate back in front 5-4.
The Bulldogs won it in the bottom of the fifth by scoring seven added insurance in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff home run from Ragan Liles, an RBI single from Stevens and a run scored on a wild pitch. Kaylee Hobgood added in an RBI single blooped down the leftfield line to stretch the lead to 9-4. An error, a single and a passed ball let Wingate walk it off via the run rule.
Rylee Gattis took the loss for C-N. She pitched 4.1 innings in falling to 9-4. She gave up 10 hits and 10 runs, nine earned while walking five and striking out one.
Jillian Thomas logged the win for Wingate to improve to 5-1. She pitched 4.1 innings, giving up six hits and four runs, two earned. She didn't issue any free passes and struck out one. Hali Scott pitched the final 0.2 innings to earn her fourth save.
GAME TWO: No. 17 Wingate 9, Carson-Newman 6
Wingate struck first taking advantage of free passes. In the second, two walks sandwiched a sacrifice before a wild pitch moved Stevens and Alyssa Hall into scoring position. Heaven Maness plated two with a single into center field to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs doubled the lead in the fourth with a two-run home run from Stevens. The one-out blast left the yard in left with one out. Maness made it a 5-0 lead going back-to-back off a 2-2 pitch tanked to left center.
The Eagles responded in the top of the fifth. SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) hit a two-out single to second before Hughes clobbered a 3-2 pitch to left to pull the Eagles within three runs, 5-2.
Savannah Brooks stretched back to a four-run game when she ambushed the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth out to left center for her 11th home run of the year.
The Bulldogs continued to play add on in the sixth with a two-RBI triple to left center from Hobgood and an RBI-single down the left field line from Brooks.
In the seventh ,the Eagles got a one-out single from Cameron and a double from Hughes in the top of the seventh before Bailey grooved a double to right center to plate both runners and pull C-N within five, 9-4. Warder continued the rally with a two-out blast to center to plate two and pull the Eagles within three runs, 9-6. The Eagles brought the tying run to the plate after singles by Hayden Dye and Carmen Holt, but a strikeout ended the rally.
Raechel Cutcher went the distance to get the win for Wingate, improving to 10-3. She scattered 11 hits while walking one and striking out six.
Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) took the loss for C-N after giving up 10 hits and nine runs, eight of which were earned, in a complete game. She issues four walks and struck out six.
After the cancellation of Wednesday's doubleheader at Concord, Carson-Newman is next in action Saturday at Anderson at 1 p.m.
