No. 21 C-N swept by No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne on Senior Day to close the regular season
The South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship was on the line Friday afternoon in Jefferson City. In a battle between two top-25 teams, No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne (37-11, 19-3 SAC) took both games from No. 21 Carson-Newman (37-10, 16-6 SAC), spoiling Senior Day.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship was on the line Friday afternoon in Jefferson City. In a battle between two top-25 teams, No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne (37-11, 19-3 SAC) took both games from No. 21 Carson-Newman (37-10, 16-6 SAC), spoiling Senior Day.
The Bears ambushed early in game one, taking a commanding seven-run cushion through two innings, in route to a 7-1 win. In game two, the Eagles fell behind early, battled back and forced extra innings, but came up short in eight innings, 6-5.
Head coach Michael Graves didn't mince his words when recapping what went wrong across the doubleheader.
"We didn't respond, and that's something we've been doing all year. Walks and hit batters are continuing to haunt us, and they got us in both games there," Graves said. "I think they outpitched us, played better defense than us, and they definitely out-hit us. They beat us in every aspect of the game. So, we just weren't very good today.
Carson-Newman honored its six seniors, Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.), Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.), Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.), Riley Sikes (Powell, Tenn.), Alaina Smith (Lebanon, Tenn.) and Bailee Worley (Black Mountain, N.C.), between games one and two.
"Great bunch of seniors, I hate that this is what happened, but you know it's a team loss, it took all of us, even them," Graves said. "We had some bad swings in that group, and we had some bad plays, so everybody contributed to what happened to us today."
It marks the first time this season that C-N got swept across a doubleheader. They've dropped the last four contests against the Bears.
The Eagles had their 15-game winning streak snapped, the longest winning streak since 2017, when they won 17 straight. It has also swept the last six SAC doubleheaders and has 13 straight victories in conference play.
The 37 wins this season are the most for the Eagles, also since 2017, when they went 43-13 overall.
Game One: No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 7, No. 21 Carson-Newman 1
LR wasted no time jumping out to an early advantage against freshman right-hander Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn). After a leadoff walk and a hit batter, Avery Kiger opened the scoring with two outs on a two-run double, followed by another RBI double from Kaylan Brown, 3-0.
C-N threatened in the first but left two on base, and the Bears stretched their advantage in the second.
Again, with two outs, Lenoir-Rhyne found a spark with a pair of two-run home runs. After a leadoff base hit from Kennedy Lange, Madison Primm connected with her 10th long ball this season. Then another walk, set the table for Alexandria Gray's blast to left field, 7-0, chasing Stamper from the game after an inning and two-thirds.
It marked the largest deficit that the Eagles had faced this season, but it was too big a hole to climb out of.
In the third, C-N got on the board after a Macauley Bailey walk, Grace Gregory roped a double into right center, 7-1, but it was the only run it got.
Madison Wilson was outstanding in the circle for the Bears, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second. The junior retired the last 10 hitters she faced on her way to her 16th complete game. She finished with nine strikeouts, allowing the lone run on five hits.
Regan Rowan (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) and Riley Sikes went the last 5.1 innings in the circle for the Eagles, allowing just two hits.
Game Two: No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 6, No. 21 Carson-Newman 5
Following the Senior Day festivities between games, Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) got the nod in game two. After a scoreless first inning, LR broke the ice in the second with two runs
Kaylan Brown led off with a single, and again with two outs, the Bears broke through as Autumn Joyce doubled on a pop-up that landed between three Eagle defenders. Then, a Madison Primm double scored Joyce, 2-0.
In the third, the lead blossomed to four after Alexandria Gray left the yard for the second time with a two-run blast, 4-0.
In the fourth, C-N broke through against Faith Carrigan, as Macauley Bailey doubled and then Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) reached on a fielder's choice, putting runners on the corners. Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.) got on thanks to an error, scoring Bailey for the first run. Katey Mathena (Blacksburg, Va.) capped off the inning with a two-run single, 4-3.
Spraldin worked efficiently in the circle, holding the Bears offense in check in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, C-N got the tying run on with a leadoff walk by Richards, after a wild pitch, she was pinch-run for by Baliee Worley. Freshman Lacey Keck (Knoxville, Tenn.) then drove a base hit to right, but Worley was out of the play as she stumbled around third. However, Mathena stepped up in a big spot with a game-tying single, 4-4.
Madison Wilson returned to the circle for the Bears after the Mathena knock. Wilson and Spraldin posted 1-2-3 frames in the seventh, sending the regular season finale to extra innings.
In the eighth, Lenoir-Rhyne scored a pair on an Autumn Joyce double with two outs, 6-4.
Looking to rally, the Eagles got to work as Grace Gregory singled, putting runners on the corners, and then Saunders cut the lead in half with a single to left center, plating Alaina Smith. However, the next three would go down as with the tying and go-ahead runs on the bases.
Carson-Newman finishes the regular season third in the conference and will host a first-round contest in the SAC Tournament next weekend. The Eagles will wait to see who they will be playing in the quarterfinals as the remaining games wrap up this weekend. Fans can watch both games on FloSports with a subscription, listen to them on cneagles.com/live or watch the In The Booth cam on the Carson-Newman Eagle Sports Network YouTube channel.
