Smith’s sacrifice fly propels No. 25 C-N to extra innings win and sweep at Newberry
For the third time in four games, No. 25 Carson-Newman (31-8, 10-4 SAC) needed extra innings to pick up a win, and the late heroics of Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) and Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) got it done against Newberry (12-20, 3-9 SAC).
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
|
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0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Addie Saunders Interview
VIDEO: Grace Gregory Interview
NEWBERRY, S.C. – For the third time in four games, No. 25 Carson-Newman (31-8, 10-4 SAC) needed extra innings to pick up a win, and the late heroics of Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) and Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) got it done against Newberry (12-20, 3-9 SAC).
C-N controlled game one, 5-0, behind a combined shutout from Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.). The second contest saw the Eagles squander a 5-0 lead, but pair of home runs from Gregory and a game-winning sacrifice fly from Smith highlighted a resilient effort in the extra innings victory, 8-7.
Gregory is the first player this season with a multi-home run game for Carson-Newman, she leads the team with eight on the year.
Head coach Michael Graves' team notched its third straight sweep in South Atlantic Conference play. The Eagles have won seven straight conference games and nine consecutive overall, their longest streak of the year.
"Walks are still haunting us, I think we walked eight in game two, and that can't happen, got us in a bind. We talked a bit afterwards, and said if you're struggling on the mound, step off, break the momentum, don't let it snowball. So that's something we've got to do a better job of," Graves said. "Thought we played pretty good at times, but we had some miscues that are uncharacteristic for us, but all in all I'm glad to get two wins."
Game One: Carson-Newman 5, Newberry 0
The game started as Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) reached another milestone. The senior's single in the first inning was the 250th hit in her career.
As a whole, C-N's offense was sputtering initially, leaving two runners on in each of the first two innings, but was able to break through for the first runs of the game in the third.
Bailey worked a walk, and then back-to-back base hits from Grace Gregory and Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) loaded the bases with one out. Anne Marie Richards then drove in Bailey for the ballgame's opening run on a sacrifice fly to center field, 1-0.
An inning later, the Eagles added four more runs to the lead. A one-out walk from Shelby Armstrong (Knoxville, Tenn.) and a bunt single by Malyiah Smith put pressure on as Armstrong advanced to third on an error. After Smith stole second, Armstrong came home to score as Ella Stone's back pick to third was off target. Then, a single from Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) stretched the lead to three. The Eagles added two more on a backside double from Saunders that split the left center field gap, scoring Martin and Gregory, 5-0.
Saunders picked up her 16th multi-hit game in the first contest and eclipsed her RBI total from last season, now up to 19 on the year. Her new focus at the plate has made her one of C-N's strongest hitters over the last 13 games.
"I think just self-talk, telling myself that I can do it and I can do what I want to do, and then scouting more and being able to expect what the pitcher is going to throw to me," Saunders said. "It's been working so I'm thankful for that."
It was all the offensive support needed as Atiana Stamper picked up her 10th win of the season by tossing five shutout innings, allowing one hit with a quintet of strikeouts. Then Lorelei Spradlin posted scoreless innings in the sixth and the seventh, notching a strikeout to secure the win.
It gave the Eagles another 30-win season, the first since 2024, after they missed the mark last season.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 8, Newberry 7
The second half of the twin bill saw C-N claim early control after a scoreless first inning with five runs in the second.
It only took one pitch in the second frame for the Eagles to strike first, as Grace Gregory jumped on the first pitch she saw and deposited it over the wall in center, her seventh of the year. Addie Saunders then got on with a single, moved to second on a sac bunt and scored on a single from Sarah Walker (Mills River, N.C.), 2-0.
After a lineout, came a string of three straight RBI hits from C-N. A double from Shelby Armstrong (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored Walker, with Armstrong scoring on a single from Malyiah Smith, and the five-run inning was capped off by an RBI single from Abbi Martin, 5-0.
However, Newberry would cut the deficit down to two with three runs without recording a hit in the second. Three walks and a hit batter by Regan Rowan (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) plated the first run and saw the sophomore get pulled for Lorelei Spradlin. Another run scored on a fielder's choice, and the final via a sac fly, 5-3.
Then, in the fourth, the Wolves took their first lead of the game on another trio of runs. A walk and an error put two on, and the pair moved into scoring position on a groundout. Brooke Hodges delivered Newberry's first hit and drove in two runs to tie the game. Samantha Clark then roped a double into left-center to take the lead, 6-5.
C-N tied it back up in the top of the fifth, with two outs, as Anne Marie Richards and Sarah Walker worked back-to-back walks and a single from Katey Mathena (Blacksburg, Va.) loaded the bases. Shelby Armstrong came through with a single to right field, scoring Richards, 6-6, and Walker was thrown out at home to end the threat.
Newberry reclaimed the one-run advantage in the bottom half of the fifth with a bunt single from Ella Stone to score Katie Henri, 7-6, who started the inning with a leadoff double.
A scoreless sixth set the stage for the seventh with the Eagles chasing one. Gregory seized the moment as she took advantage of the first pitch again, launching her second solo home run of the game, 7-7.
"I just went up there confident, I wouldn't say I went up there arrogant, but definitely confident in my abilities," Gregory said. "I have this amazing team behind me, I knew I was going to succeed, and I really wasn't trying to get deep in the counts today because a lot of their pitchers were throwing junk, so I capitalized on the first pitch."
Atiana Stamper, who entered in the fifth, held the Wolves scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, sending C-N to its third extra-inning game in the last four.
The Eagles applied pressure by retaking the lead. A flyout from Armstrong moved Mathena, the international base runner, to third, and then a sacrifice fly from Smith pushed Mathena across, 8-7. Stamper then slammed the door for Newberry with a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth to get the sweep.
It gave Carson-Newman its ninth straight win, the longest streak of the season, and its seventh straight in SAC play to hit double-digit wins in conference. The victories also helped the Eagles leapfrog Catawba for third place in the SAC standings.
Carson-Newman will get a much-needed break over the weekend before returning to action in a week for two more on the road at Catawba. It will be a pivotal conference clash between two teams that sit in third and fourth in the SAC. Fans can watch the April 8th meeting on FloSports with a subscription, listen to it on cneagles.com/live or watch the In The Booth feed on the Carson-Newman Eagle Sports Network YouTube channel.
