No. 19 Carson-Newman splits with UVA Wise in SAC opener
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The opening doubleheader of South Atlantic Conference play ended in a split decision for No. 19 Carson-Newman (20-5, 1-1) against UVA Wise (19-7, 1-1). The Highland Cavaliers controlled game one, 7-4, before the Eagles responded with a wire-to-wire win in game two, 7-2.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 7 | 16 | 1 |
VIDEO: Carson-Newman 7, UVA Wise 2 (Game 2 Highlights)
VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Lorelei Spradlin Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The opening doubleheader of South Atlantic Conference play ended in a split decision for No. 19 Carson-Newman (20-5, 1-1) against UVA Wise (19-7, 1-1). The Highland Cavaliers controlled game one, 7-4, before the Eagles responded with a wire-to-wire win in game two, 7-2.
"I hate splitting, I don't like a split. They came out and they beat us," head coach Michael Graves said. "We still left a lot of people on base, but we were better and situational as far as balls and strikes in game two, first game, we swung in a lot of pitches that she wanted us to swing at that I did not want to swing at, and it got us in trouble."
Across the two games, the Eagles totaled 27 hits and left 17 runners on base. In the second game, they tallied 16 hits, which is tied for the most in a game this season.
The top four hitters in the Carson-Newman order led the way offensively. Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) went 3-for-7 with a trio of RBIs, continuing her climb for the most RBIs in SAC history, with 228, passing Cailah Niles' (Anderson 2015-18) 226 mark, for third-most all-time.
Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) went 6-for-8 with four runs scored, Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) was 4-for-8 with three runs scored, and Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) was 5-for-7 with a pair of RBIs.
UVA Wise 7, Carson-Newman 4
UVA Wise struck first in the second after two reached via walks, before back-to-back RBI hits from Mataya Ausmus and Adyson Gibson opened the scoring, 2-0.
The Eagles bounced back in the third with a pair of runs. Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases for Gregory, who was hit by a pitch. Then, Sarah Walker (Mills River, N.C.) delivered an RBI single to center to score Martin, 2-2.
The Highland Cavaliers reclaimed the lead in the fourth, aided by a fielding error on a foul out, allowing Kennedy Miller to score, 3-2.
An inning later in the fifth, C-N once again tied things up as Martin led off with a double and then was driven in on a single from Gregory, her second RBI of the game, 2-2.
Once more, Wise took the lead and this time it stayed, thanks to three straight two-out hits. An RBI double from Ausmus and a triple from Gibson made it 5-3. The Cavs added insurance in the seventh thanks to a Taylor Noe double that plated two, 7-3.
C-N tried to spur a rally after an RBI double from Bailey, 7-4, but it was unable to muster anything else together.
Carson-Newman 7, UVA Wise 4
After dropping the first game, the Eagles came out with an energized and razor-sharp approach.
The first four reached in the bottom of the first with singles from Smith and Martin, before a Macauley Bailey single scored both. A single from Gregory put runners on the corners, as Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.) used a sacrifice fly to score Bailey, 3-0.
An inning later, Bailey added another RBI to her day with a double to right field as Smith motored from first to home, 4-0.
Later in the fifth, as Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) continued to work efficiently in the circle, her offense tacked on another trio of runs.
Grace Gregory started things with a double, followed by a single from Sarah Walker put runners on the corners. Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) then sliced one into left center for a double to push Gregory across. Then, a wild pitch scored Walker and an infield single from Reese Winchester (San Diego, Calif.) scored Saunders, 7-0.
UVA Wise plated two in the sixth, but it was out of reach as Atiana Stamper closed things out in the circle en route to the bounce-back win.
Spradlin picked up the win, allowing just the two runs across 5.2 innings of work, and improved to 3-0 on the season. When talking about the win and the support her offense gave her, the sophomore had one word to describe it.
"Fabulicious," Spradlin said.
It was also a welcome sight for head coach Michael Graves following her outing.
"Hopefully she's back, because that kid's good," Graves said. "I've said it before, if we can get her and Aitana both going at the same time, we're in good shape."
Up next, the Eagles are looking to carry momentum into a meeting with their rivals, Lincoln Memorial, this weekend.
Saturday's first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. from Harrogate, Tennessee. 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.
