VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-5) ended a three-game skid on Tuesday, using a pair of big innings to sweep North Greenville (6-6) at the Vick on a chilly afternoon at home.
"It's always good to get momentum," head coach Michael Graves said. "I thought we played much better, even though we're not playing as good as we're capable of playing… However, it's a great step in the right direction."
C-N used ten unanswered runs in game one before a six-run third inning in game two, propelling the Eagles to two quality wins at home.
GAME ONE: C-N 11, North Greenville 2 (5 innings)
Despite not recording a hit in the day's opening frame, C-N scored the game's opening run in game one, as SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) came in to score on a passed ball, giving the Eagles an early one-run advantage.
In the 2nd inning, North Greenville's Ali Hartin gave the Trailblazers the lead, cashing in two on a two-RBI single, putting North Greenville ahead for the first and only time of the day.
C-N answered in the home half of the 2nd, as Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) evened the tally on an RBI-single. SieAnna Cameron would put the Eagles on top on a sacrifice bunt, as C-N regained a one-run lead heading to the 3rd inning.
The Eagles broke it open in the 3rd, starting with an Abbi Martin two-RBI single, her second run-scoring hit of the afternoon to extend C-N's lead to three.
"I went up there and looked for a pitch early," Martin said. "We've struggled with getting behind in counts, so we're trying to make sure we start jumping on those pitches early and making pitchers regret throwing it to us."
Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) followed Martin with a double, scoring two more, before SieAnna Cameron traded places with Brooks on an RBI-double to push the C-N lead to six after three.
Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) posted her second-consecutive scoreless inning in the top of the 4th, allowing C-N's offense to return to the plate with a comfortable advantage. In the home half, the Eagles moved into run-rule territory on Mari Robbins' (Sweetwater, Tenn.) fourth home run of the season, her first of two three-run shots to extend the C-N lead to nine. It was Robbins' first multi-RBI long ball of the season, with the other three being solo shots.
Lexi Lacy (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) would enter in the 5th, taking over for Rogers after four strong innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run while tallying two punchouts and stranding nine Trailblazers, including stranding the bases loaded twice.
"Syerra is a competitor," Graves said. "She wants to win as much as anyone in our dugout… I told her that life is a lot easier when we don't get in jams that we have to work out of, but she did a great job escaping those situations."
Lacy slammed the door on the Trailblazers, tossing ten pitches in a 1-2-3 top of the 5th, securing C-N's sixth run-rule victory in the 2025 season.
Karley Green took the loss for North Greenville, leaving after 2.2 innings of work. She allowed six runs on seven hits, dealing two free passes and one strikeout. Georgia Lieb allowed three runs on three hits, while Owyen Lyall recorded the final two outs without inflicting further damage.
GAME TWO: C-N 6, North Greenville 2
It was a slower start for both sides in game two, as Riley Sikes (Powell, Tenn.) and Sydney Clark traded back-to-back scoreless innings as neither side cracked the run column through two.
All C-N's runs in game two came in the 3rd, as SieAnna Cameron opened the scoring with an RBI-double, before Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) swapped places with Cameron on the second-consecutive run-scoring extra-base hit, extending the C-N lead to 2-0.
Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) singled to move Dye to third, and Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) lined out to left on a hard hit ball, scoring Dye to make it 3-0. Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) set the table with two down in the inning, doubling to right and moving Bailey to 3rd for Mari Robbins.
Robbins picked up where she left off in game one, mashing her second three-run home run of the afternoon to cap off C-N's six-run 3rd inning. Robbins' fifth home run of the season puts her second in the South Atlantic Conference behind Catawba's Brianna Gallagher.
C-N's offense was quiet throughout the remainder of the game, but Riley Sikes kept the North Greenville offense at bay. North Greenville got one in the 5th and the 7th but the junior kept the Eagles at arm's length through a season-long six innings of work.
"I've worked really hard to get my endurance back," Sikes said. "I'm showing signs of endurance from my freshman year, and it means a lot to get that back."
Despite some momentum in the 7th, Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) took the ball from Sikes, striking out two to close the door on the Trailblazers.
With the pair of wins, the Eagles extend their winning streak over the Trailblazers to 11 games and halt a three-game skid.
Gaining some much-needed momentum, C-N looks to build on it on Friday against Davis & Elkins at The Vick at 1 p.m.
The game will be available on FloSports ($) and an audio-only stream on cneagles.com/live.
For updates throughout the 2025 Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
