Eagles take their hot start on the road to face Shorter
After two early-season jamborees, Carson-Newman continues its stretch away from home with its first true road trip. C-N will square up with Shorter from Conference Carolinas on Wednesday afternoon in Rome, Georgia, beginning at 3 p.m.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
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0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 0 |
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1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
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2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
VIDEO: On Press Row at Shorter (Game 1)
VIDEO: On Press Row at Shorter (Game 2)
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After two early-season jamborees, Carson-Newman continues its stretch away from home with its first true road trip. C-N will square up with Shorter from Conference Carolinas on Wednesday afternoon in Rome, Georgia, beginning at 3 p.m.
The Eagles are off to a 7-1 start, fresh off a 3-1 weekend down in Hardeeville, South Carolina, for the Low Country Classic, hosted by USC Beaufort. The Sand Sharks handed Michael Graves' squad their first loss of the season on Friday afternoon, 3-1, before C-N picked up a 5-3 come-from-behind victory on Saturday to complete the trip south. The Eagles also defeated Erskine both times they faced off at the Low Country Classic, 8-0 and 8-4.
In the second edition of the 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, Carson-Newman (7-1) is receiving votes to be ranked.
The Eagles received 19 points and were one of six teams to receive votes, tied with Pittsburg State with the most points, but missed out on the top 25.
C-N spent the last two years outside the top 25, receiving zero votes. The Eagles haven't been ranked inside the top 25 since the 2023 season, and last received votes on April 3rd, 2023.
The Eagles are the only team from the South Atlantic Conference included in the poll this week and are one of three teams from the region, along with No. 6 Francis Marion (Conference Carolinas) and No. 8 North Georgia (Peach Belt).
Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) continues to be a kick starter in the C-N order. The senior leads the team in batting average, .444, on-base percentage, .500, RBIs, 10, and stolen bases, 5. A duo of freshman Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.), .407, and Sarah Walker (Mill Spring, N.C.), .400, continue to cement themselves in the early goings, as the only other two hitters in the order batting above .400.
Additionally, Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) unlocked her offense on the second day in South Carolina. The senior erupted for six RBIs on the day, while going 5-for-8 across the two games. She had four RBIs in the win over Erskine and then followed it up with the go-ahead two-run single against USC Beaufort in the sixth inning.
In the circle, freshman Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) keeps turning heads with her poise. The right-hander holds a 0.91 ERA across four appearances with three starts and is 2-0. She leads the team with 17 strikeouts and is coming off an inning against Beaufort, where she tallied five strikeouts in three innings, including striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) has also been strong to start the season. She holds a 1-0 record with a 0.78 ERA in three appearances, allowing just one run on nine hits.
Shorter comes into Wednesday's doubleheader at 3-9 and is currently riding a six-game skid. The Hawks' last win came on February 7th against the University of Illinois Springfield, 5-4. Since then, they've been swept by Middle Georgia, Alabama-Huntsville, and Kentucky Wesleyan.
Offensively, Shorter has three players hitting above .300 in Brayleigh Leone (.391), Lizzy Mitchell (.375) and Alex Hollingsworth (.361). Leone leads the team with seven runs batted in, with Hollingsworth and Mitchell just behind her, with six and five, respectively. The freshman catcher, Leone, rides a four-game hitting streak and paces the team with a .533 on-base percentage.
In the circle, the Hawks are led by former Carson-Newman player Rylee Gattis. The senior began her collegiate career with the Eagles in 2023, where she went 4-4 with a 4.85 ERA.
This season, Gattis holds a 3.80 ERA with a 1-3 record across five appearances with two starts. Opponents are batting .247 against her. She pitched in last year's meeting against C-N, going two innings, allowing seven runs on six hits.
The Eagles and the Hawks will tangle for just the fifth time in this brief series history. Carson-Newman has won all four prior meetings, most recently sweeping last year's doubleheader in Rome, 7-1 and 19-0. The schools first met in 2022, at a neutral site, ending 17-5.
This marks the final stop on the streak of 10 consecutive neutral or road games to start the season for C-N. The Eagles will finally have their home opener at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex on Saturday against King and will stay in Mossy Creek to face Barton on Sunday.
First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. from the Alto Park Softball Complex. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work via a press row feed on YouTube.
