JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (11-7) returns home after splitting a four-game road trip, hosting one of the southeast region's best, Southern Wesleyan (11-1), for a twin-bill at The Vick on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles had an up-and-down road trip to Georgia, mustering just one run in two games against Columbus State in the first two games. C-N dropped the first contest 8-1, but the window of opportunity was wide open with reigning SAC Pitcher of the Week Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) holding the Cougars to one run on two hits, keeping C-N in the fight. However, despite outhitting Columbus State 5-2, C-N couldn't find the tying run as the Cougars secured the sweep.
Despite the offensive struggles on Sunday, C-N flipped the script in a big way at Shorter on Monday. The C-N offense exploded in game one, scoring 19 runs en route to a dominant shutout win over the Hawks. The Eagles mashed five home runs, tying for most in a game in program history.
Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) continued her tear with two long balls in game one, Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) moved a step closer to the all-time home run record with the 33rd of her career, Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) left the yard for the first of two on the afternoon, and Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) proved she can do it all with her first home run of 2025. Rogers was also stellar in the circle, dealing five scoreless innings in the run-rule win.
Shorter drew even with C-N in the third inning of game two, but the Eagles scored the game's final six runs to claim the sweep. SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth, scoring two on an RBI single before Hayden Dye crushed her second home run of the day to put C-N ahead by four runs. Dye put the exclamation mark on a 4-for-4 game two with an RBI double in the sixth, capping off a 26-run scoring effort on the day for C-N. Lorelei Spradlin dealt her third complete game of the season, allowing no earned runs on six hits, tallying three strikeouts in a seven-inning effort.
With some momentum and a stellar showing so far this season at home, the Eagles welcome a talented Warriors squad to The Vick on Saturday afternoon. As a team, Southern Wesleyan leads the Conference Carolinas in team batting average (.393), ERA (1.53), and is second in the league in runs (114). According to Inkblot Sports, Southern Wesleyan ranks first in the southeast region in RPI through the first 12 games.
Offensively, Abby Schreiner and Maddie Crouch are hitting over .500 for the Warriors. Schreiner, appearing in ten of the 12 games for SWU, is hitting .550 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. Six of Schreiner's 11 hits have been for extra bases. Crouch leads the Warriors in hits, notching 19 in 37 at bats. She has added a pair of home runs and five RBIs during the young season. Despite the high averages of Schreiner and Crouch, Amberly Way is arguably the biggest threat for the Warriors. Through 12 games, Way has mashed seven home runs, cashing in 23 RBIs while hitting .455. It's a Southern Wesleyan offense that knows how to get on base with six players hitting over .400.
The Warriors have been equally impressive in the circle, with three arms accounting for 59.1 of the 73 innings this season. The top two arms, Emily Collins and Olivia Haag, have combined for 46.1 innings. Haag has appeared in five games and has three starts, holding a 5-0 record. She has allowed only five earned runs, leading to a 1.52 ERA and has struck out 24. Collins holds a 2.10 ERA through five starts, earning the win in three of them. Like Haag, Collins has been a strikeout threat, setting down 23 via the punchout. Chloe Smith leads the Warriors in ERA (1.08) but has only tossed 13 innings. No arm on the SWU staff has allowed double-digit runs this season.
It's the third and fourth times the Eagles and the Warriors will battle, with the only other matchups coming in the 2024 season. The two sides split the twin-bill.
In game two, C-N overcame an early deficit courtesy of timely hits from Hayden Dye and Macauley Bailey, winning the nightcap 8-4.
C-N looks for a quality addition to its resume against one of the southeast region's best with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at The Vick on Saturday.
The games will be available on FloSports ($) with an audio-only stream at cneagles.com/live.
For updates throughout the 2025 Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
