No. 18 Carson-Newman begins SAC play at home against UVA Wise
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 18 Carson-Newman (19-4) opens up South Atlantic Conference play at home on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. against UVA Wise (16-6) at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 7 | 16 | 1 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 18 Carson-Newman (19-4) opens up South Atlantic Conference play at home on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. against UVA Wise (16-6) at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
It marks the fifth and sixth home games of the season for the Eagles and will be their first game in six days. They last played on March 4th at Lee, dropping both games in walk-off fashion against the Flames.
"We had a lead in both games and just didn't close it out. I told them that if we learn from some of the situations we were in and use it the rest of the way, this wasn't as bad as it feels right now," head coach Michael Graves said. "We're looking forward to opening conference play the friendly confines of the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield complex."
C-N last played at home on February 22nd against Barton, as part of a home-opening doubleheader weekend; it also hosted Kingon February 21st. The Eagles went 4-0 across the contests, headlined by a walk-off single by Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) to close out Barton.
Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) continues to be the engine in the Eagles' offense, as she paces the SAC in batting average, .493, and RBIs, 34. Fellow senior Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) is second on the team and fifth in the conference, hitting .438, in what has been a career year. Martin is also second in the SAC in stolen bases with 11, trailing her teammate Mayliah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.), who has 15.
Carson-Newman leads the conference in batting average at .363 and is second in on-base percentage at .432. Both Smith and Saunders continue to contribute offensively, both batting above .400 at .432 and .403, respectively.
In the circle, the Eagles are fourth in the SAC with a 3.30 ERA on the campaign and is sixth in total strikeouts with 104. Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.), despite coming off her first career loss, paces the way with a 2.41 ERA and holds 55 strikeouts, good for fifth in the conference.
The visiting Highland Cavaliers enter 18-6 and are fresh off a split of Lock Haven on Saturday. Wise is 3-1 against common opponents with C-N, picking up a sweep over King on Friday, an earlier win over Concord and opening the season with a loss at Lee.
As a team, it is third in the SAC with a .343 batting average, led by a trio of above .400 hitters in Kaylynn Baker, .420, Savannah Johnson, .413, and Taylor Noe, .403. Baker also leads the team with 22 RBIs, while Lindsey Polan holds a team-high four home runs this season.
Pitching for the Highland Cavaliers has been strong due to the efforts of Chole Murphy, Olivia Shockley, and Angelina Branch.
Murphy has a team-best 2.26 ERA and a 5-1 record to start the year; she has 48 strikeouts across 49.2 innings. Meanwhile, Shockley has the most wins with a 7-2 record, has pitched the most at 57.1 innings, and is second with a 2.81 ERA and 40 strikeouts. Branch rounds things out with a 2-2 record across eight appearances with a 3.95 ERA, striking out 31 and walking 11 in 28.1 innings.
Carson-Newman is 11-3 all-time against UVA Wise and has won the last seven meetings. Including, taking both of last year's meetings in Virginia, 8-2 and 8-3.
Tuesday's first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. from the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live or watched on cneagles.com/FloSB with a FloSports subscription. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work via a press row feed on YouTube.
