ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – Carson-Newman (2-6) rallied twice, but could only secure one win on the second day of the Charger Chillout hosted by Alabama Huntsville at Sand Mountain Park Friday afternoon.
The Eagles overcame a fifth-inning one-run deficit to defeat Christian Brothers (3-2) 7-4 in the first game of the day. In the nightcap, the Eagles rallied from a four-run deficit to force extra innings against Young Harris (7-2), only to lose in extra innings in walk-off fashion 7-6.
It marked the second time the Eagles have dropped a game to a walk-off hit in their last five six contests.
"We have some good at bats and we are powerful at times," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "But we are just not very good right now at being disciplined and accountable for our actions at the plate. There are four simple words that are causing us to fight uphill battles. Those four words are inside, outside, ball and strike. Until we learn those four things at the plate, we're just not going to be consistently good. We have got to find nine people that we can depend on to have quality at bats."
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 7, Christian Brothers 4
Carson-Newman capped a see-saw battle with a big blast.
Christian Brothers got on the scoreboard first, doing so in the second inning. A single and a double to start the frame set the table for Josie Bond. She plated a run with an RBI groundout.
The Eagles responded with a three-run third. Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) walked to lead off the inning. After a fly out, Hayden Dye (Powell, Tenn.) smashed a triple to right center to tie the game.
Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) put the Eagles in front by drilling her 52nd career home run down the left field line to give C-N a 3-1 lead.
That lead would be short-lived. The Buccaneers scratched across a run in the fourth on a steal of home by Stefanie Alexander, before taking the lead in the fifth with two-out RBI singles from Alexander and Simpson.
Carson-Newman responded in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game. A pinch-running Bailey Worley (Black Mountain, N.C.) tied things up 4-4 when she scored on a wild pitch.
C-N grabbed the lead for good in the sixth with a two-out rally. After a fly out and a ground out to third to start the inning, Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) and Hughes got on base with a walk and a base hit back up the box. That set the table for Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.), who delivered a three-run moon shot over the wall in left center to propel C-N to the 7-4 win.
CBU got the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh after a walk and a base hit to right, but a fly out to right ended the threat.
Kayleigh Bowers (Stephenville, Texas) got the win in relief. She pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and strikeout out two.
Gabby Dickerson took the loss for CBU. She pitched the final 1.2 innings. Dickerson gave up two hits and a walk with three earned runs against her.
GAME TWO: Young Harris 7, Carson-Newman 6
Carson-Newman drew first blood with a little league home run in the first inning. Martin led off the frame with a triple, then scored when the Mountain Lions leftfielder misplayed the ball to give C-N an early 1-0 lead.
The lead would be short-lived as the Mountain Lions countered with a two-run, two-out single from Addie Heal in the bottom of the first.
Young Harris would tack on single runs the next three innings to carry a 5-1 lead into the fifth. The Mountain Lions scored on singles from Avery Fielden and Grace Young before capping the string of five unanswered runs with Shelby Duncan racing home on an error.
Carson-Newman got it all back in the top of the fifth to tie the contest at five runs apiece. Martin and Hughes sparked the surge with back-to-back one-out singles. Hughes swiped second and a throwing error by Young Harris' catcher allowed Martin to score. A batter later, Bailey lifted her second home run of the day over the wall in left center off a 3-1 pitch to pull the Eagles within a run.
After a walk and a Matyasovsky single, Lucero sliced a ball into left to level the game.
Neither team could scratch across a run over the next 2.5 innings. YHC had the best chance, but had the go-ahead run retired at the plate on a Martin seed from center on a two-out base hit in the fifth.
In the eight, the Eagles plated their international-rule runner with a Lucero sacrifice fly, but a lineout and a foul out prevented any further damage from being done.
Young Harris walked it off in the bottom of the inning when four straight batters reached to start the frame. Hannah Carey had the winning hit with a single to left center.
Gracie Hughes got the win in relief for YHC. She pitched the final 3.2 innings, surrendering three hits and two runs, one earned. She improved to 4-0.
Bowers took the loss for C-N in a 4.1-inning relief outing. She gave up eight hits and just two runs, one of which was earned.
Saturday's action at the Charger Chillout has been washed out. Carson-Newman returns to the diamond Sunday Feb. 18 at King.
