VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Macauley Bailey Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-7) earned two quality wins over southeast region foe Southern Wesleyan (11-3) at The Vick on Saturday afternoon, scoring 11 unanswered runs in game one before outlasting the Warriors in a game two slugfest.
"They have a good ball club," head coach Michael Graves said. "It's nice to see that we can show up and take care of business against a quality opponent. I thought we hit the ball well and the pitching was good in game one."
It was a record-breaking afternoon for Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.), etching her name into the record books with a three home run day, becoming Carson-Newman's all-time leader in career home runs with 36.
"Her bat is feared all through the conference," Graves said. "She's a home run threat every time she comes up… She's not just a home run hitter. She hits the ball hard… She's a strong kid. She likes to hit and it shows."
GAME ONE: C-N 11, Southern Wesleyan 2 (5 inn.)
Southern Wesleyan opened the scoring in game one, as Ava Mercer left the yard to left center to take an early 2-0 lead in the first.
However, C-N answered with urgency. Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) ripped a one-out single before Macauley Bailey knotted the game at two with her first home run of the day and the 34th of her career.
Despite giving up a leadoff hit to start the frame in the second inning, Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) retired the next three Warriors to send the Eagles back to the plate in the home half of the inning. Rogers made her presence felt at the plate in the bottom half, launching C-N's second two-run shot of the game to give the Eagles the 4-2 edge after two.
"I don't have to tell that kid to swing the bat," Graves said. "Syerra [Rogers] is always going to hit it as hard and far as she can hit it… I love that about her."
Rogers got back to work in the circle in the third inning, working a 1-2-3 scoreless inning. Hayden Dye reached on a dropped third strike to start the frame, and Macauley Bailey wasted no time, crushing her second two-run blast of the game, tying the Carson-Newman all-time home run record with No. 35.
The inning continued, as Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) reached on an infield single and Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) and Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) entered to pinch hit and made the most of her opportunity, clearing the bases on a three-RBI double to centerfield, extending C-N's cushion to 9-2. SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) and Hayden Dye hit back-to-back RBI singles to cap off a seven-run third inning for the Eagles.
Another scoreless frame from Rogers and a quiet half inning from C-N's offense sent the game to the fifth, where Rogers notched back-to-back punchouts to secure C-N's eighth run-rule victory.
Rogers was stellar in her fifth win of 2025, striking out seven while allowing only three hits in five innings of two-run ball.
C-N dealt Southern Wesleyan's Emily Collins her first loss of 2025, scoring eleven runs on nine hits in Collins' three innings of work. Olivia Haag pitched a scoreless fourth inning for the Warriors, striking out two.
GAME TWO: C-N 18, Southern Wesleyan 17 (8 inn.)
The Warriors struck first in game two, and Avery Mercer started scoring for the second time, scoring one on an RBI single to give the Warriors an early edge.
Despite a scoreless first inning, C-N's offense responded in the second, as Brooklyn Lucero evened the score on a sacrifice fly before Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) gave C-N the lead on a single and a pair of errors on the play allowed a run to come into score, making it 2-1 C-N after two.
Southern Wesleyan did not surrender the lead for long. Amberley Way ripped a two-RBI ground-rule double before Avery Mercer continued her monster day, mashing a two-run home run to open up the Warriors' largest lead at 5-2.
In the bottom of the third, C-N punched back. Hayden Dye seeded the gap with a leadoff double before Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) left the yard for the ninth time in 2025, a tally that is the best in Division II. C-N loaded the bases with a trio of walks, and Wynter Morris (Crozet, Va.) watched four balls in a pinch-hitting appearance, evening the score at five apiece.
Amberley Way put SWU back in front in the 4th, crushing a two-out three-run home run to regain the advantage.
Hayden Dye walked to lead off C-N's half of the fourth and for the third time, Macauley Bailey followed Dye with a two-run home run, etching her name into the Carson-Newman record books, becoming C-N's new all-time home run leader with the 36th of her career. Bailey's record-setting blast brought C-N within one.
"It means a lot," Bailey said. "It's a really cool honor to have. I love hitting home runs… Every time I hit a home run, the feeling never goes away. I am really proud of myself and that I get to do it here."
The Warriors were held scoreless in the top of the fifth, allowing C-N to draw even once again in the bottom of the frame. Abbi Martin walked to lead off the home half of the 5th, getting into scoring position on a stolen base before Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) scored her from second to tie the game at eight. SieAnna Cameron brought Brooks in from second on an RBI single, giving C-N its first lead since the second inning. Macauley Bailey reached on an error with two outs, scoring C-N's tenth run to push the tally to 10-8 Eagles after five.
Southern Wesleyan wasn't finished, as the Warriors came to the plate swinging in the sixth. Amberley Way left The Vick for the second time in game two, tying Mari Robbins' tally with her ninth long ball of the year. Avery Mercer followed suit, mashing one out to right to bring SWU back even with C-N. With two outs in the frame, Talissa Cannady hit the Warriors' third home run of the inning to push the Warriors ahead by three, 13-10.
For the third time in the ballgame, C-N's surge had been immediately matched by SWU, as the Eagles found themselves behind by three again. However, it didn't deter the Eagle offense, which seemingly had a response for everything SWU had to offer on Saturday afternoon.
C-N's half of the sixth started with a Kennady Warder single, and the next two Eagles reached on a pair of Warrior errors. SieAnna Cameron came through again, cashing in two on an RBI single to cut the deficit to one. Hayden Dye capitalized on a pitch left over the heart of the plate, crushing a three-run go-ahead home run, putting C-N ahead. The Eagles would add two more in the sixth on a pair of RBI doubles from Kennady Warder and Brooklyn Lucero, giving C-N its biggest lead at 17-13.
Down to their last out in the seventh, Southern Wesleyan had one last surge. Rebecca Lamb scored one on an RBI single before Abbi Schreiner doubled home two to bring the Warriors within one. With the tying run on third, on a day where the wind was gusting throughout the afternoon's action, Olivia Haag skied a towering fly ball to left that just missed the glove of Santana Anderson in right, scoring Schreiner on a game-tying error with two outs in the seventh.
C-N did not hang its head as the two sides were sent to extras. With the tiebreaker rule in play, Southern Wesleyan had a runner on second in the top half of the eighth. Riley Sikes (Powell, Tenn.) entered to pitch the extra frame, coming in for her first action of the day in a big spot. Riley Brown moved the go-ahead run to third on a sac bunt, but Sikes got a big second out on a softly hit groundball to third before retiring the final Warrior on a fly ball to left, stranding the go-ahead run on third.
Santana Anderson represented the winning run on second, as Brooklyn Lucero moved her to third on a sac bunt. With Kennady Warder at the plate, Anderson saw the ball sneak by Abby Schreiner, racing home with a head-first slide and avoiding the tag from Schreiner to avenge the late error and send C-N home with a thrilling 18-17 win and a doubleheader sweep over Southern Wesleyan.
The two teams combined for 35 runs on 35 hits, but the decisive run went the way of the Eagles in a barnburner to wrap up conference play.
Each side used four pitchers throughout the marathon of game two. Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) got the start for C-N, dealing 2.2 innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits and striking out five. Syerra Rogers tossed three innings, allowing five to come across on six hits. Lexi Lacy came in for 1.1 innings of work, allowing four hits and three earned runs. Riley Sikes came up big in the eighth, tossing a scoreless eighth inning to open the door for C-N in the bottom half.
Bailey Throckmorton started for Southern Wesleyan, dealing 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits. Chloe Smith didn't allow a hit in two innings, but walked five, which allowed C-N to score two on the relief arm. Amberley Way was stellar in 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and no earned runs.
With a thrilling end to non-conference play, C-N will look to carry the momentum into a midweek doubleheader against Newberry on Tuesday to open SAC play, starting at 1 p.m. at The Vick.
The games will be available on FloSports ($) with an audio-only stream at cneagles.com/live.
For updates throughout the 2025 Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
