Anderson rallies in the seventh to eliminate C-N from the SAC Tournament in a crushing loss
RV Carson-Newman (40-12) stared down the barrel of a six-run deficit after four innings, battled back to take the lead, and stood one out away from setting up a rematch with Lincoln Memorial tomorrow, but Anderson (38-12) came from behind to walk it off, 9-8.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
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0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 2 |
VIDEO: Michael Graves Postgame Interview
HICKORY, N.C. – RV Carson-Newman (40-12) stared down the barrel of a six-run deficit after four innings, battled back to take the lead, and stood one out away from setting up a rematch with Lincoln Memorial tomorrow, but Anderson (38-12) came from behind to walk it off, 9-8.
It was a pair of clutch hits for Anderson in the seventh, first a double from Bella Harbour in a 3-2 count with two outs knotted it up before Kinsley Dunn hammered a base hit to left center, driving in Harbour and sending the Trojan faithful into a frenzy.
The Eagles had plenty of chances to seize early momentum, but after leaving seven runners on base through the four innings, it was Anderson capturing the energy. The Trojans scored a pair of runs from the second to the fourth. Then C-N erupted for seven runs in the fifth to take the lead and added another in the sixth before Anderson spoiled what would have been the largest comeback since 2023, when the Eagles rallied from six down.
Head coach Michael Graves felt his team did enough to win, but mental miscues and missed opportunities cost them.
"Eight runs, 15 hits, 12 runners left on base, I'd say nobody in the country would look at that and say you lost the ball game, so that pretty well sums it up," Graves said. "We've got to make better adjustments in the box as we go through. We didn't score a run here in the first four innings, and when you're playing from behind the whole time, it's harder to pitch. We got to start early, and it's killed us."
Graves switched up the batting order, moving Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) up to the two-spot, trying to find a spark. The change put early pressure on as both Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Saunders were in scoring position with one out, but C-N was unable to score.
After stranding two more on base in the second, Anderson drew first blood on a two-run home run from Kinsley Dunn, the first home run of her career, 2-0.
In the next inning, C-N left two in scoring position, and the Trojans plated two more. A wild pitch scored one, and then an RBI single from Kadence Barrick doubled the lead, 4-0. With two more runs in the fourth, an RBI single from Kara Davis and a double steal, C-N faced its second large deficit of the day, 6-0.
The Eagles came out swinging in the fifth with back-to-back base hits from Saunders and Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.), and then a base hit from Grace Gregory (White House, Tenn.) stopped the drought for C-N scoring Saunders. A sacrifice fly from Anne Marie Richards (Spring Hill, Tenn.) added another. A walk by Katey Mathena (Blacksburg, Va.) put two back on the bases as Sarah Walker (Mills River, N.C.) followed suit with a single to score Gregory, 6-3.
Shelby Armstrong (Knoxville, Tenn.) kept the train moving with a two-run single pushing Mathena and Walker across, and advanced to second on a throwing error. After a groundout, the tying run stood at third as Malyiah Smith came through with a bouncing ball up the middle to tie the game. Then the scoring ended with the player who started the inning, as Saunders put a ball in play, and Smith scored thanks to a Trojan error, 7-6. It's the largest deficit C-N has overcome this season.
The Eagles tacked on another in the sixth as Gregory was hit by a pitch and advanced to third after a single and a fielder's choice. Walker came through once again with a base hit up the middle, bringing Gregory home, 8-6.
They had a chance for insurance in the seventh with the bases loaded, but a tremendous play from Jenna Davis led to an inning double play.
In the bottom half of the inning, with three outs to play, Anderson battled back.
A leadoff walk to Shelby Bandt put speed on the bases, and she stayed on first, avoiding a double play as the Eagles missed the tag on Bandt after taking the force out away. Lauren Brakovec then hammered a single to cut the lead to one. In a 3-2 count with two outs, Bella Harbour delivered with a double to left field that got over the head of Saunders, scoring the tying run. The Trojans capped off the comeback with a walk-off single from Kinsley Dunn, 9-8, sending them to Saturday's Championship, needing two wins to lift the trophy.
Anderson will take on the four-seed Lincoln Memorial with the first pitch set for noon from Hickory, North Carolina. The Railsplitters have a chance to be a bid stealer and could spoil Carson-Newman's tremendous season.
The Eagles will now wait for the Selection Show set for Monday at 10 a.m., which can be viewed live on NCAA.com. Carson-Newman came in at No. 7 in the most recent regional rankings and needs some results to fall in its favor to feel safe on the bubble.
