Carson-Newman begins SAC Championship Series against Anderson
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After sweeping Catawba in the opening round of the SAC Tournament, three-seed RV Carson-Newman (39-10) tussles with the two-seed No. 24 Anderson (36-11) in its first game at the Championship Series on Thursday at the McCrorie Family Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
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VIDEO: In The Booth vs Anderson
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After sweeping Catawba in the opening round of the SAC Tournament, three-seed RV Carson-Newman (39-10) tussles with the two-seed No. 24 Anderson (36-11) in its first game at the Championship Series on Thursday at the McCrorie Family Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
Thursday is the first day of the double-elimination Championship portion of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, with all four of the top seeds in attendance. Regular Season Champions, No. 12 Lenoir-Rhyne (39-11), locked up home-field advantage by taking down Emory & Henry in the first round. The Bears will face the four-seed Lincoln Memorial (22-22) in the opening game at 2:00 p.m.
The Eagles and Trojans are slated for a 4:30 p.m. showdown as the nightcap for day one.
In the first round, C-N produced one of three sweeps, taking down Catawba. Game one was a pitcher's duel between Atiana Stamper (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Alex Baquie. The Eagles used early tallies in the first and second innings to hold on for a 2-1 decision.
Game two was a different tune as both sides struck early and often, with Carson-Newman posting crooked numbers in the first, with four, and in the third, with two, taking a 6-3 lead. Headlined by a three-run home run from Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) in the first, the Eagles staked early momentum. Catawba trimmed the deficit down to a pair, 7-5, but it was the closest it got, as C-N rattled off the next seven runs, including six in the seventh, to advance to the next round, 14-6.
Gregory posted a historic day on the banks of Mossy Creek, going 5-for-5 with five runs scored, driving in four, and totaling 12 bases, including a program-record four doubles that tied an NCAA record. She tied the single-game high for runs scored in C-N history and is second in total bases in a game. Freshman catcher Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.) also had a tremendous outing, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs, tying her career-best mark.
Carson-Newman has won the SAC Tournament 11 times, but it has been eight years since its last title when it went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. Lenoir-Rhyne has won the last two SAC Championships and heads into the tournament as the top overall seed. However, the regular season champion has not won the SAC Tournament since 2017, when the Eagles were crowned Co-Regular Season Champions.
When Anderson came to Jefferson City in the regular season, the two sides battled to a split on March 21st. The Trojans escaped game one, 4-3, as the Eagles had the tying and winning run on the bases, while C-N bounced back in game two, taking a late lead to win it, 7-5.
The win in game two began a 15-game winning streak for Carson-Newman, the longest winning streak since 2017.
Anderson is fresh off the lone three-game set in the first round of the SAC Tournament, taking down Wingate. The Trojans took game one on a walk-off double by Lauren Brakovec, while the Bulldogs responded last Saturday with an 8-3 win in game two, setting up the rubber match. Powered by a complete game from Caroline Morgan and an early 4-0 lead, Anderson flipped the script with their own 8-3 victory to advance.
At the helm is 2026 SAC Coach of the Year, Kelly Roberts. In her first season, Roberts led the Trojans to a historical year, finishing No. 25 in the NFCA poll while rounding out the regular season 34-10 overall and 17-5 in SAC play. The Black and Gold went 19-1 on their home turf for one of the best records at home in program history.
Leading the charge is Carson Hobbs, the 2026 SAC Player of the Year. The senior holds a .437 batting average, the second-best in the SAC, along with a conference-leading 66 RBI, the ninth highest in the country. She has 34 extra-base hits, led by her nation's best 25 doubles, in addition to a pair of triples and seven home runs. In the circle, Hobbs is 11-4 with a 3.73 ERA, tossing 99.1 innings with 69 strikeouts to 20 walks, holding opponents to a .265 batting average.
The Trojans had three others earn All-SAC honors, with Jenna Davis joining Hobbs on the First Team, while first baseman Lauren Brakovec and outfielder Shelby Bandt made second team appearances.
On Friday, Carson-Newman will face either Lenoir-Rhyne or Lincoln Memorial in either the winners' or losers' bracket. If it's the winners' bracket, it will feature a trip to the Championship, while the losers' bracket matchup would be the first elimination game of the weekend.
Lenoir-Rhyne swept C-N in the final doubleheader of the regular season, while splitting with LMU, the Railsplitters took game one in extra innings, with the Eagles winning via a run-rule in game two.
After the most recent regional rankings, where the Eagles were on the outside looking in, the opening meeting with the Trojans brings major postseason implications to the forefront.
Thursday's contest is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Hickory, North Carolina, but could shift back depending on the length of the day's first game. Fans can watch the game on FloSports with a subscription, listen to the game on cneagles.com/live or tune in to the In The Booth Cam on Carson-Newman's Eagle Sports Network YouTube Channel.
