A doubleheader doozy on the horizon for No. 24 Carson-Newman at Catawba
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a restful Easter weekend, No. 24 Carson-Newman (31-8, 10-4 SAC) breaks its eight-day hiatus with the first leg of a four-game road trip across three days on Thursday at Catawba (22-15, 8-4 SAC).
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1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 0 |
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VIDEO: In The Booth at Catawba (Game 1)
VIDEO: In The Booth at Catawba (Game 2)
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a restful Easter weekend, No. 24 Carson-Newman (31-8, 10-4 SAC) breaks its eight-day hiatus with the first leg of a four-game road trip across three days on Thursday at Catawba (22-15, 8-4 SAC).
The Eagles climbed up one spot to No. 24 in the most recent NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll after picking up a sweep over Newberry last Wednesday.
C-N seized the energy and momentum of game one, supported by a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance from Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.). In the second contest, the Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead before surrendering it and coming back to tie it twice. In the seventh inning, Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) launched her second home run of the game to force extras, where Malyiah Smith's (Knoxville, Tenn.) sacrifice fly propelled C-N to a sweep.
"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 two marked the third extra-innings contest in the last four. Carson-Newman has won all three of those following the walk-off sweep over Mars Hill.
After a .500 start to March and South Atlantic Conference play, the Eagles have rattled off nine consecutive wins, their longest streak of the season, and seven straight in conference play, spanning into April.
Amid this run, Addie Saunders and Grace Gregory have blossomed into premier bats in the heart of the Carson-Newman order.
The sophomore is second on the team and third in the SAC with a .427 average and has driven in 19 runs. Saunders is riding a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base in her last 13 games. In that span, she is 21-for-40 (.525) with five extra-base hits and six RBI.
"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."
Meanwhile, Gregory is in her final year and has been one of the top producers offensively. Her eight home runs pace the Eagles and are tied for fifth in the SAC, while her 37 RBIs are second on the team and sixth in the conference.
Across her last eight games, the White House native is 14-for-26 (.538) with four long balls and 14 RBIs, including her two-homer game at Newberry, featuring a pivotal game-tying blast.
"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."
Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) continues to top the charts in the SAC with a .469 average and 50 RBIs. However, the senior has been held without an RBI in her last four games since breaking the South Atlantic Conference career RBI record. She also hasn't driven in a run in her last six games in conference play.
In the circle, Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) continues to be the feature piece for head coach Michael Graves. At Newberry, Stamper pitched in both games of the twin bill for the first time this season, picking up the wins in both. Overall, she is 11-3, tied for sixth in the SAC for the most wins, with a 1.92 ERA, third lowest in the SAC, and 95 strikeouts, sixth in the conference.
Catawba enters Thursday fourth in the SAC standings, just behind Carson-Newman, looking to make some noise down the stretch. After rattling off an eight-game winning streak, the Indians have split their last two doubleheaders, against Mars Hill and Tusculum.
This Catawba offense enters Thursday fourth in the SAC with 36 home runs and fifth in batting average, thanks to the support from Brianna Gallagher and Grace Flynn. The duo both lead Catawba with seven home runs.
Gallagher holds a .440 batting average, second in the SAC. She has totaled 39 RBIs, tied for third in the conference. Meanwhile, Flynn is batting .369 this season with seven home runs and 27 RBIs; she is also 19-for-20 on stolen bases.
Pitching-wise, Alexandria Baquie is the top arm for the Catawba staff. The senior is 5-6 with a 4.25 ERA and has limited batters to a .293 opponents' batting average, with 61 strikeouts.
More recently, Dakotah Wilkins has turned into the other primary starter for the Indians. She is 6-1 across 13 appearances in 39.1 innings pitched with a 3.74 ERA, the lowest among Catawba pitchers.
Carson-Newman and Catawba will meet for the 82nd and 83rd time in the series that dates back to 1990. The Eagles lead the all-time series with a 59-22 record. The two teams battled to a split last season, with the Eagles taking the first contest before the Indians bounced back to win game two.
Game one in Salisbury, North Carolina, is set for 2:00 p.m. at Whitley Field. Fans can watch the game 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.
