Gregory’s record-breaking day energizes C-N to series sweep versus Catawba
Carson-Newman (39-10) punched its ticket to the South Atlantic Conference Championship Series, sweeping Catawba (26-25) with a 14-6 win in game two. The offense turned it up a notch behind a record-breaking day from Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.), where she etched her name into the Carson-Newman and NCAA record books.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 0 |
|
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
VIDEO: Game Two Highlights – Carson-Newman 14, Catawba 6
VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Grace Gregory Interview
VIDEO: Anne Marie Richards Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (39-10) punched its ticket to the South Atlantic Conference Championship Series, sweeping Catawba (26-25) with a 14-6 win in game two. The offense turned it up a notch behind a record-breaking day from Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.), where she etched her name into the Carson-Newman and NCAA record books.
The senior was a perfect 5-for-5 with five runs scored and four RBIs. Gregory kick-started the Eagles with a three-run blast in the first and followed that up with four consecutive doubles. She set the program record with four doubles, which also ties the NCAA record for most doubles in a game, tied the program's best mark with five scored and had the second-best single-game total in C-N history with 12 total bases.
A huge motivation for Gregory was knowing this was the final home game for her and the other seniors on the team.
"I didn't have the best day yesterday, and I didn't want to start the day being down on myself, that would've gotten me nowhere. What got me going this morning was this team playing one last game at home, and the fans behind us, the fan base has been the best, the engagement we've had all year, it's been really cool to play behind," Gregory said. "What was working for me was knowing and showing my ability. Sometimes I go up there, try and do too much and overthink a lot of things. I think what works for me is just sitting back, knowing what I can do and being confident."
Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.) was also outstanding offensively, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs. It continues a torrid stretch for the freshman, she is 10-for-17 in the last six games.
"I've been using my teammates, like Grace [Gregory], to help me work on my swing, she's phenomenal. She's worked with me more times than I can count and helped me figure some things out, including during this game," Richards said. "It's definitely been a long time coming, but I'm very happy to produce the way I've been."
Carson-Newman totaled 18 hits, the second-most in a game this season. Michael Graves' squad scored in five of the seven innings, including three frames with crooked numbers. It was a stark contrast to the gritty pitchers' duel in game one on Saturday.
"We talked a little bit yesterday and before the game today, that Catawba was going to come out, they're not just going to roll over for us, that's a good ball club we just played, got good sticks in the lineup, [Brianna] Gallagher is as good as anybody," Graves said. "I thought our pitching staff did pretty good, Lorelei [Spradlin] gave us some innings and then Atiana [Stamper] came in, Holly [Tucker-Vance] put together a good game plan."
The Eagles used the same recipe that worked against Catawba in the regular season meetings, a fast start, striking for four in the top of the first.
It started with a leadoff single from Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.), who scored just moments later after a sequence of two wild pitches allowed her to motor around the bases. Then, an Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) and a Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) single put two on, as Grace Gregory torched a three-run shot to right center, 4-0, energizing the Carson-Newman dugout.
Catawba cut into the lead in the bottom half using back-to-back doubles from Alexis Monroe and Brianna Gallagher, 4-1. An inning later, Jordan McCorkle doubled and drove in Adda Prescott to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
In the third, C-N pushed the lead back to four with a pair in the third. Gregory led off the inning with a ground-rule double and a single from Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly from Anne Marie Richards brought Gregory home, and then a base hit from Katey Mathena (Blacksburg, Va.) scored Saunders, 6-2.
Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) returned to the circle after Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) notched a pair of strikeouts in the first two innings. However, the third would not be as smooth as Saturday was for the freshman, with Gallagher launching a towering, moonshot home run to center, trimming the lead to three, 6-3.
With two outs in the fourth, the Eagles tacked on with a rally, started by none other than Gregory with her second double, a walk from Saunders put two on for Richards with an RBI single, 7-3.
Catawba got back within two in the fifth, as Maddy Altiers had a sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Adda Prescott brought the cushion down, 7-5. However, it was the closest the Indians would get.
In the sixth, Gregory's third double put early pressure on the Catawba staff, and she sprinted home on a double from Richards, 8-5.
Then in the seventh, C-N delivered the dagger with a six-run frame, as the first six hitters reached base.
Two straight singles from Reese Winchester (San Diego, Calif.) and Smith, plus the third walk by Martin, loaded the bases for Bailey, who chopped a base hit up the middle, driving in a pair. Then Gregory's record-tying double pushed another across. Saunders kept the train moving with an RBI single, scoring Shelby Armstrong (Knoxville, Tenn.). The run stopped on a sacrifice fly from Richards, her fourth RBI, and then a single from Mathena dragged Saunders across, 14-5.
The Indians added one more in the bottom half, as Gallagher left the yard for the second time in her final at-bat in a Catawba uniform, closing out a tremendous career for the Liberty, North Carolina native.
Top-seed Lenoir-Rhyne will host the Championship Series from May 7th to May 9th this coming week, as all four top seeds advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Second-seeded Anderson and four-seeded Lincoln Memorial round out the group of teams.
In the regular season, the Eagles were a combined 2-4 against the three teams.
Carson-Newman will face Anderson on Thursday afternoon in Hickory, North Carolina. The two sides battled to a split in Jefferson City on March 21st, as the Trojans took game one, 4-3, before a late rally from the Eagles propelled them to a 7-5 victory, which started a streak of 15-straight wins for C-N. Fans can watch the game on FloSports with a subscription, listen on cneagles.com/live or tune in to the In The Booth cam on the Carson-Newman Eagle Sports Network YouTube channel.
