Eagles charm Cobras in gritty doubleheader sweep to finish out six straight road games
It was a change of pace from the controlling sweep on Thursday, as No. 24 Carson-Newman (35-8, 14-4 SAC) battled past a scrappy Coker (10-26, 2-16 SAC) team to pick up a sweep to close out the road slate in 2026.
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0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
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VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Lorelei Spradlin Interview
VIDEO: Malyiah Smith Interview
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – It was a change of pace from the controlling sweep on Thursday, as No. 24 Carson-Newman (35-8, 14-4 SAC) battled past a scrappy Coker (10-26, 2-16 SAC) team to pick up a sweep to close out the road slate in 2026.
Game one got going on Saturday morning with the Eagles riding the complete game from Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) to a win, 5-3. Then, in the second contest, Michael Graves' group pushed through offensive struggles to pick up the sweep, 3-2, thanks to a two-run single by Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.).
"I just think we didn't come out ready to play, we were sluggish, we had nothing on our swings, that's just not what I'm used to seeing with our offense," Graves said. "We did cut down on walks with our pitching, that's good to see. I thought Lorelei [Spradlin] gave a great effort. In game two, we had Lacey [Keck] come in and give us a couple of big innings, and then Atiana [Stamper] came in and shut the door."
It closed a grueling stretch of six games on the road, including four in the last three days away from home, with the Eagles spending the Friday off day in Hartsville.
"I told them, 'I don't like to win ugly,' I'll take the wins, it's great, and hopefully it will help us out in the long run," Graves said. "But I want to look good every time we play, and I just don't think we looked good today."
With the two wins today, Carson-Newman has now won 13 consecutive contests, the longest winning streak since 2019. It has also swept the last five SAC doubleheaders and has 11 straight victories in conference play.
The 33 wins this season are the most for the Eagles since 2022, when they went 35-18 overall.
Game One: Carson-Newman 5, Coker 3
The opening contest saw a scoreless first inning before Carson-Newman jump-started its morning in the second inning.
Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) led off the frame with a base hit to left and moved into scoring position off the sacrifice bunt from Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.). With two outs, Katey Mathena (Blacksburg, Va.) continued her strong run of form with a double, driving in Saunders, 1-0.
An inning later, the Eagles struck for three more. Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) reached on a leadoff single, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error from the catcher, before she scored on a wild pitch. On the next pitch, Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) hammered a solo home run to center, as she went yard for the second straight game. The inning was capped off after a double from Saunders and an RBI single from Sarah Walker (Mills River, N.C.), 4-0.
The Cobras cut into the lead in the bottom of the third with back-to-back two-out doubles from Emily Rose and Bailee Gaskins, 4-2.
Lorelei Spradlin would buckle down following the third, producing three straight scoreless innings of work in her first start since March 28th.
Her offense would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth. Malyiah Smith led off with a bunt single and then used her speed to advance to third on a throwing error from the pitcher. It set up Martin, who delivered with a chopper through the left side, 5-2.
Coker would score one in the seventh with two outs, but it was all they could salvage as Spradlin closed the book in game one.
The sophomore recorded her second complete game of the season and totaled four strikeouts in the contest.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 3, Coker 2
The second half of the doubleheader started on a much different note as it was the Cobras to strike first. A single and a walk put two on with two outs in the bottom of the first, as Dakota Slack pushed one through the right side to drive in Payton Brigman, 1-0.
As Carson-Newman's offense struggled to solve the work in the circle by Brooklyn Lovin, Coker threatened for more in the third.
With two on and nobody out, Graves turned to freshman Lacey Keck (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the circle. The left-hander came up big, retiring the next three to silence the Cobras. She carried it forward in the fourth with a 1-2-3 frame, retiring all six batters she faced.
The performance from Keck sparked momentum for the Eagles' offense that finally broke through in the fifth after four scoreless frames with just two hits.
Anne Marie Richards started the party with a base hit and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. After a nine-pitch at-bat, Katey Mathena came through with a double to drive in the first run for C-N. Nine-hitter Reese Winchester (San Diego, Calif.) singled to left, and after stealing second, it set the table for Malyiah Smith with two in scoring position. The freshman seized the moment with a double to centerfield, plating Mathena and Winchester, 3-1.
Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) took the ball for the final three innings for the Eagles.
Bailee Gaskins trimmed the lead down to one in the sixth on a no-doubt, tape measure shot to left field, 3-2.
Then in the seventh, with the tying run 60 feet away at third after a stolen base, Stamper struck Emily Rose out to pick up the save.
Carson-Newman has toppled Coker in the last 13 meetings between the two schools, the longest winning streak for either side in the all-time series.
After a couple of beneficial results in the South Atlantic Conference on Saturday, Carson-Newman climbed to second place in the standings. Mars Hill and Anderson split, and then Tusculum upset No. 18 Lenoir-Rhyne. The Eagles sit two games behind the Bears with four games remaining.
Carson-Newman concludes the regular season with four home games, including the season finale against Lenoir-Rhyne on April 25th.
Next up on the docket is a midweek matchup against Emory & Henry on Wednesday, April 15th. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tennessee, at the Vickee-Kazee Hollifield Softball Complex. Fans can watch the game on FloSports with a subscription, listen on cneagles.com/live or watch the In The Booth feed on the Carson-Newman Eagle Sports Network YouTube channel.
