Abbi Martin’s game-winning hit hands softball a split with Anderson
After falling just short in a 7th inning comeback in game one, C-N battled through a late game effort by Anderson to split the twin bill.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
|
|
1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | X | 7 | 8 | 1 |
VIDEO: Michael Graves Postgame
VIDEO: Abbi Martin and Regan Rowan Postgame Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After falling just short in a 7th inning comeback in game one, C-N battled through a late game effort by Anderson to split the twin bill.
With the split, the Eagles move to 23-8 on the season and are 4-4 in conference play. They have split every conference series in 2026 and handed Anderson just their second loss in SAC action.
"Two very competitive games nearly came back in game one," said head coach Michael Graves. "I thought we fought well all day. We didn't quit. That first game we got behind, three runs in the first, another run later, we're down 4-0. But you could tell that they were just trying to claw their way back into it."
This marks the 2nd season in a row that the Eagles have split with Anderson, and moves the all-time series to 43-23 in favor of C-N.
Game 1 (Anderson: 4, Carson-Newman: 3)
In all but one SAC series, the Eagles have opened their doubleheaders with a loss. The Eagles nearly avoided that same fate in game one with a late surge in the bottom of the 7th, but came up just short.
Anderson came off the bus and ready to go against Atiana Stamper in the first game. The SAC's leader in walks, Shelby Bandt, got on base in the top of the first thanks to a freebie from Stamper. A double from Carson Hobbs brought the speedster around to score, before Kadence Barrick ripped a first-pitch bomb over the left field fence to put Anderson up 3-0.
They added onto their lead in a similar fashion. Bandt drew her second walk of the contest, advanced to third on a double from Hobbs, and the cleanup hitter Lauren Brakovec planted a single into center field that extended the Trojan lead to four.
It took the Eagles four innings to find their first score against Carson Hobbs. Addie Saunders, who was 2-3 in game one, hit a single up the gut and came around to score off a Katey Mathena line drive to left field.
Stamper finished out the game for C-N, throwing seven innings and giving up just two hits after the first three innings. This was the freshman's 7th complete game of the year. She picked up six strikeouts throughout the game, which add up to 73 total in her rookie campaign.
Stamper saw just four batters in the top of the 7th to give her offense a chance to respond, and it looked like they were going to.
Sarah Walker led things off with a ground ball that snuck between shortstop and third. She was moved along when Katey Mathena stayed disciplined and drew a walk. Kora Kilgore came in to pitch for Hobbs, but it didn't faze Sarah Armstrong, who came in to pinch hit for Reese Winchester as she loaded the bases with a walk.
Malyiah Smith pulled a ground ball to second base that brought Walker in to score, cutting the lead to two. Then, Abbi Martin, who was 2-3, drove in Katey Mathena on a ground ball to shortstop.
With two outs on the board, Macauley Bailey extended her on-base streak to 50 games, holding off for a four-pitch walk. With runners on the corners, Grace Gregory got underneath the fifth pitch of her at-bat that was caught at shortstop to end the ballgame.
" I think we need to be more focused. Not just one game, but both games," said senior Abbi Martin. "We kind of rely on one thing for one game and then the second game or the first game, whichever one we win, we put everything together. I think we need to use the God-given talents that we have and just put it all together for every game that we play."
Anderson improved to 6-1 in conference play with the win, while C-N was 3-4.
Anderson's Kilgore picked up her team-leading 3rd save of the year.
Game 2 (Anderson: 5, Carson-Newman: 7)
C-N flipped the script on the Trojans in game two, getting on top of Anderson's #1 arm Katie Morris in the early goings.
Lorelei Spradlin worked through early game pressure, drawing a line drive into the glove of Malyiah Smith to give the Eagles bats the first chance to strike. Abbi Martin kicked things off with a single into right field and was moved along by Macauley Bailey's hit into right. Bailey 3-4 in game two. Grace Gregory plated Martin on a line drive to right field to put the Eagles up 1-0.
In the top of the second, Spradlin gave up a base hit into center field from Chaney Crosby, and Chloe Maness hit an RBI double to tie the game.
The Eagles weren't going to let the game slip away easily, though. In the bottom of the third, Smith used her legs to pick up an infield base hit, and came home off Bailey's 2nd hit of the day. With an 0-2 count, Grace Gregory got a hold of one that was gone from the moment it touched her bat, extending the Eagles' lead to 4-1 and ending Morris' day in the circle.
Kora Kilgore ended the Eagles' 3-run top of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Trojans didn't go away. Kara Davis scored at the top of the fifth thanks to the third hit of the game from Lauren Brakovec. The Eagles responded to the lone tally when Martin scored off Gregory's contact in the same inning. Gregory picked up her 4th RBI of the game with the swing.
Anderson nearly mounted a comeback of their own. Chaney Crosby hit one hard into center field and was pinch-run for by Kinsley Dunn. Bella Harbour got the second runner aboard for the Trojans in the top of the 6th with a ground ball past a diving Malyiah Smith. C-N decided it was time for a pitching change, and Lacey Keck immediately got the first out with a groundout from Jenna Davis.
Tragedy struck when Chloe Maness got her 2nd hit of the day, bringing Dunn and Harbour home safe, making it a tie game. Keck was pulled for Regan Rowan, who made just her second pitching appearance of her Carson-Newman career in the game.
The sophomore gave up a walk to Shelby Bandt but struck out Carson Hobbs and drew a fly out from Brakovec.
Tied 5-5, Katey Mathena walked on four straight pitches from Kilgore and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Sarah Walker. Sarah Armstrong singled to second base, pushing Mathena along. Eventually, Abbi Martin played hero, shooting a ground ball to second base that scored Mathena, and Armstrong slid around the tag of the Anderson catcher to put C-N ahead 7-5.
"In the first game, early in the game, I think she [Abbi Martin] came up and that coach was saying, 'good hitter, really good hitter.' You know what's funny about that? That kid has never gotten a postseason award for all-conference and stuff," said Graves. "All four years she's been here, she has just been miss consistent. She gets on base and she makes plays on defense. She throws the ball where she's supposed to. The kid's just a ball player."
"I knew she was going to go outside on me," said Martin. "I was just looking for something that was outside and it wasn't pretty but it got the job done."
Rowan came in huge in her appearance, battling through a line drive from Kadence Barrick and firing three straight outs; one of her outs was the 6th strikeout of her career. She threw 1.2 innings with just one hit, no runs, and two strikeouts. She was credited for her first win of her career.
"We weren't sure we were going to use Reagan today, but then it came down, and we had to have her," said Graves. "She was effective against our team, and if you're effective against our team, I like my chances with you on the mound against somebody else," said Graves.
With the win, Carson-Newman snapped Anderson's six-game winning streak and busted their own two-game losing streak.
They return to the diamond for two against Tusculum on March 24 in Greenville. You can catch the action on FloSports or a special In-the-Booth feed on Carson-Newman's YouTube channel. Full coverage is available at cneagles.com and on social media @cneagles.
