Miscues, missed opportunities haunt Eagles in regional-opening loss to No. 18 Nighthawks
HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman (35-17) left 10 runners on base, made two errors and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position as No. 18 North Georgia (43-15) scored six unanswered runs to break open a tie game and move on in the winner’s bracket 10-4 in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional Thursday afternoon at Bears Field.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
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2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
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1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 10 | 12 | 2 |
VIDEO: Press Conference
HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman (35-17) left 10 runners on base, made two errors and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position as No. 18 North Georgia (43-15) scored six unanswered runs to break open a tie game and move on in the winner's bracket 10-4 in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional Thursday afternoon at Bears Field.
The Nighthawks stay perfect all-time against the Eagles in the programs' series history. North Georgia has taken all five games played against C-N all-time. The teams hadn't played in a decade.
"I thought we came out strong and were aggressive early," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "We made a few mistakes on the bases where we missed a couple of signals. The momentum was there early and we played well early, but we couldn't sustain it."
Carson-Newman had the tying run at the plate in the fifth and sixth innings, but never could get the timely hit to make up a three-run deficit before the Nighthawks put things out of reach with a three-run sixth.
"We made similar mistakes to what has hurt us all year long," Graves said. "When you have runners on base, you have to find ways to get them in. You have to be selective about which pitch you're swinging at. If we can look to go opposite field and score a run, we've got to look for an outside pitch first. We can't just go up there and hit ground balls in the infield."
Carson-Newman jaunted out to a lead in the top of the first inning. Singles for Natalie Corbin (Tybee Island, Ga.), Emily Harris (Cumming, Ga.) and Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) loaded the bases before Mary Vandergriff (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) ripped a two-run single back up the box to give the Eagles' a 2-0 lead after a half inning.
North Georgia answered in the bottom of the first. Olivia Sinquefield yanked a 2-2 pitch down the left field line and out to the park to carve the Eagles' lead in half.
The Nighthawks hopped in front thanks miscues in the third. A walk, an error and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out. A bases-loaded walk by Greyson Perry tied the game before Sinquefield drove in two with a single to center to make it 4-2.
C-N drew level in the top of the fourth thanks to an RBI groundout from Vandergriff. An error at short allowed Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) to reach and Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) to score to tie it at four.
North Georgia pounced in the bottom of the third with a Hannah Forehand RBI double, a Jaycie Michael RBI single and a Gracie Mixson RBI rip to center for a 7-4 lead after three.
The Nighthawks added insurance in the sixth, Madison Simmons pushed two across with a single up the middle before Michael drove in her second run with another single back up the box to set the final margin at 10-4.
Sinquefie and Michael powered the Nighthawks lineup. Sinquefie became the second player to have a four-hit day against Carson-Newman this season. She was 4-for-4 with a solo home run and three driven in.
Michael was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Vandergriff, Corbin, Harris and Hughes all had multi-hit days for Carson-Newman. Vandergriff drove in three runs for C-N while Corbin had the Eagles' lone extra-base hit – a double.
Warzynski got the win in relief for the Nighthawks to improve to 6-2. She pitched the final 4.1 innings. She gave up six hits but shut out C-N.
C-N chained three pitchers together to get through the contest. Sara King (Cumming, Ga.) took the loss in relief to fall to 16-9. She pitched an inning, giving up four hits and three runs.
Morgen Baker-Celis (Kentfield, Calif.) started and allowed four runs, one earned in two innings while giving up two hits.
Ferguson finished out the game for C-N surrendering three runs off six hits in three innings.
Carson-Newman faces Wingate in an elimination game Friday at 2:30 PM.
