ALBERTVILLE, Ala. - Carson-Newman (6-0) used timely two-out hitting to take two wins at day one of the Charger Chillout at Sand Mountain Park.
The Eagles prevailed in game one of the day 6-4 over Mississippi College (4-3) before shutting out Maryville (Mo.) (2-3) in the nightcap, 5-0.
Of the 11 runs Carson-Newman scored on the day, seven came with two away.
"I thought we played two really good games today," Carson-Newman head softball coach Michael Graves said. "That was a good win against a very good Mississippi College team that had just run ruled the third-ranked team in the country last weekend."
Carson-Newman got quality pitching in both contests. The Eagles limited their opponents to only two base hits with runners in scoring position between the two games.
"(Rylee) Gattis really shut them (the Choctaws) down the whole game." Graves said. "We let up a little in the seventh but got out of it. We got two quality starts from Gattis and (Syerra) Rogers. (Riley) Sikes came in and closed game two down. It's good when you can use multiple pitchers in a day, and they are all effective."
SieAnna Cameron, Macauley Bailey, Lilly Holston and Kennady Warder all tallied multi-hit days between the two contests.
"We are starting to get in a rhythm offensively which is always good to see," Graves said. "In game one all starters had at least one hit and that always helps. We hit the ball hard all day and I'm excited to see the swings that we are taking in games. Macauley Bailey had another good day at the plate. Her second homerun actually went off the concession stand."
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 6, Mississippi College 4
BALLGAME!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 10, 2023
C-N holds on after a Choctaw rally. A two-out blast pulls MC within two, but a pop up to second ends it.
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Carson-Newman bounded out to a big lead before stiff-arming the Choctaws to the finish to collect an opening win at the Charger Chillout.
The Eagles got on the board first in the bottom of the first. SieAnna Cameron (Friendsville, Tenn.) led off the inning with an infield to single to short. Stuck on first after a strikeout and a line out to short, Cameron raced home from three bases away on a Brooke Matyasovsky (Orange, Conn.) double to the right-center gap. The Eagles led 1-0 after one.
C-N took advantage of MC miscues in the second to pad the lead to 2-0. Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) led off the inning with a single back up the box. She moved to second on a Mary Vandergriff (Chattanooga, Tenn.) sacrifice bunt and scored when the Choctaws first base man threw the ball away.
After a scoreless third, Carson-Newman got back on track offensively in the fourth. Carson-Newman loaded the bases with two out with a Vandergriff single, an error and a Cameron single. Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) made the Choctaws pay for the error with a two-run single down the right field line that gave the Eagles a 4-0 cushion.
Carson-Newman got more two-out magic in the sixth thanks to Macauley Bailey (Powell, Tenn.). With runners on the corners, she cranked a two-out double to center plating both Hughes and Cameron.
The Eagles would need every bit of that six-run lead as the Choctaws rallied in the seventh.
A double, a single and a hit batter loaded the bases for Mississippi College before the Eagles recorded an out.
Brooke Fagan lofted a fly ball to centerfield to score one while a throwing error by Cameron in center allowed a second run to come in on the play.
After a fly out, Jenna Ergle golfed a pitch to right center to bring the Choctaws within two.
However, Rylee Gattis (Southside, Ala.) induced a flyout to preserve the win.
Mississippi College tallied three of its eight hits off Gattis in the final frame. The freshman improves to 2-0 in the circle with the performance. She dealt the complete game with a walk, two strikeouts and two hit batters.
Avery Barnett took the loss for the Choctaws to fall to 0-2. She pitched the first 3.2 innings, surrendering six hits and four runs, albeit only one earned run.
Five of the Eagles six runs scored with two outs. Carson-Newman was 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Cameron led Carson-Newman with a three-hit day, the ninth of her career. Hughes and Bailey both drove in two runs.
Every Eagle in the order had a hit.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 5, Maryville (Mo.) 0
Welcome to Carson-NeWWWWWWman
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 10, 2023
Eagles have won six straight to start the year
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⚜️ @MaryvilleSB 0
FINAL pic.twitter.com/rOEAq86kHO
Bailey wasted no time in staking Carson-Newman a lead in game two.
The freshman belted her first career home run. Lilly Holston (Powell, Tenn.) led off the game with a double. That set the table for Bailey's one-out blast that gave C-N a 2-0 lead.
After getting runners in scoring position in two of the next three innings, Carson-Newman broke through again in the fifth.
Carmen Holt (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) led off the inning with a walk and scored from three bases away on Holton's second double of the game, this one into the left centerfield alleyway.
After a flyout, Bailey clobbered her second blast of the day over the fence in center to give Carson-Newman a 5-0 lead.
That would be more than sufficient to stick and get Carson-Newman a sixth straight win to open the season.
Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) picked up the win to improve to 2-0. She worked 4.2 innings of three-hit shutout ball, but did walk four in addition to striking out five. Riley Sikes (Powell, Tenn.) finished the game with 2.1 innings of two-hit, shutout ball.
Chayse Ramey took the loss for the Saints to fall to 1-2. She gave up six hits and five runs in a five-inning start.
Bailey, Holston and Warder all had multi-hit days. Bailey drove in 80 percent of the Eagles runs.
Carson-Newman is back in action at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with two more games at the Charger Chillout. The Eagles take on Christian Brothers at 12:30 p.m. and Union at 3 p.m. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for live updates of the contests.
