Shealy Leads Lady Eagles to Sweep of Columbus State
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Sophomore pitcher Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) helped lead the 24th-ranked Carson-Newman softball team to a sweep of Columbus State with her bat and her arm on Saturday afternoon at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Sophomore pitcher Mary Shealy
(Clinton, S.C.) helped lead the 24th-ranked Carson-Newman softball
team to a sweep of Columbus State with her bat and her arm on
Saturday afternoon at the Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
Shealy delivered a three-run home run in the fifth inning of game
one to give C-N the lead and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to
earn her first save and seal a 7-6 win. She then delivered a
two-run home run in game two to spark the Lady Eagles to a 10-0
victory.
Shealy (3-1) also picked up the win in game two after scattering
two hits and striking out six batters in five innings of work.
With the victories, the Lady Eagles improve to 9-1 on the season.
Columbus State falls to 4-8 overall.
In the first game, C-N pounded out 12 hits and rallied to erase an
early 4-2 deficit to claim the win.
Junior Whitney Durham led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, including
a triple. Senior shortstop Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) and
junior Ashley Boyd (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added two hits apiece in
the win.
Brittany Leverett (Appling, Ga.) tallied two hits, including a
two-run home run, to lead the Cougars. Rocky Hemmer (Byron, Ga.)
and Keeley Kennedy (Fortson, Ga.) also had two hits each for
Columbus State.
Freshman pitcher Jennifer Long (Chattanooga, Tenn.) (1-0) earned
the win after surrendering one hit in one scoreless inning of
relief work.
Columbus State starting hurler Kristi Bullard (Box Springs, Ga.)
was tagged with the loss. Bullard (2-4) allowed seven runs (six
earned) on nine hits and struck out six batters in four innings in
the circle.
C-N grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning, as Cassidy Skeen
(Powell, Tenn.) delivered a RBI triple and Howard came through with
a run-scoring single.
But the Cougars battled back in the third with a four-run
outburst, highlighted by Carrie Jones’ (Midland, Ga.)
three-run double to left center.
The Lady Eagles tied the game at four in the bottom of the third
with two more runs, but Columbus State answered again in the fourth
on a RBI sacrifice fly by Leverett.
However, Shealy launched a 3-run home run in the fifth that gave
C-N the lead for good at 7-5.
In the second game, C-N collected 12 more hits and received a
two-hitter from Shealy to cruise to a 10-0 win.
Shealy went 3-for-3 with a home run to lead the Lady Eagles, and
Boyd went 2-for-2 with a triple and a home run. Freshman catcher
Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) added a pair of doubles, while
senior Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) and Durham tallied two hits
apiece. Durham also drove in three runs.
Columbus State starting pitcher Britni McCall (Barnsville, Ga.)
was hit with the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits in
one inning of work.
Boyd produced a RBI triple and Durham contributed a run-scoring
single for C-N in the second inning to give Shealy all the run
support she needed.
Boyd and Shealy then crushed a pair of two-run home runs in the
third inning to push the Lady Eagles’ lead to 6-0.
Shealy took care of the rest in the circle as she no-hit the
Cougars during the fourth and fifth innings to secure the win for
C-N.
The Lady Eagles return to the diamond at home on Monday in a
doubleheader with Erskine. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at the
Lady Eagle Softball Complex.
