VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Macauley Bailey Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-5) staved off a surge in the middle innings, defeating Davis & Elkins (3-10) 7-4 at home on Friday afternoon at The Vick.
The Eagles got out to a hot start, jumping out to a six-run lead after two innings.
"We talk about momentum a lot," head coach Michael Graves said. "Things were going good for us, but then they got ahold of a couple of balls… We lost the momentum there, and our job as an offense is to get the momentum back… However, we let them hang around, and it got a lot closer than it should've been."
The Eagles got a hot start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead after two. SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) and Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) started C-N's half of the first with back-to-back singles before Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) scored the pair to start the scoring for C-N. Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) scored Bailey on a gap shot to cap off a three-run first inning for the Eagles.
Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) held the Senators at bay in the second, setting down a pair via the strikeout in a 1-2-3 frame. In the bottom half, Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) led off the frame with a double and moved to third on a Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) groundout before scoring on a passed ball. With two outs in the frame, Hayden Dye, Macauley Bailey, and Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) ripped three consecutive doubles to generate two runs to give C-N a 6-0 lead after two.
The Senators' Saylor Kneeland entered with two outs in the second and traded scoreless frames with Lorelei Spradlin in the third. Riley Sikes came in to pitch the 4th, surrendering a leadoff home run to Linzey Allard before a two-out solo shot from Jules Gutierrez to make it a four-run game. Spradlin re-entered, retiring the next Senator to end the frame.
Kneeland held the Eagles scoreless in the fourth, allowing the Senators to return to the plate with momentum. Linzey Allard continued her stellar day, slashing the deficit in half with a two-RBI single to make it 6-4.
In the fifth, the Eagles got a much-needed answer from Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.), mashing her third home run in as many games and her sixth of the season to bring C-N's lead back to three.
The home half of the sixth didn't feature any scoring, but Macauley Bailey ripped her third double of the day, becoming the first Eagle to hit three doubles in a game since Emily Harris did so against Emmanuel in 2022.
"I always love home games," Bailey said. "It felt good. It was a good hitting day. Coach Graves lit a fire underneath me today, so I was playing with something to play for. It was a great day."
Despite a leadoff single to start the top half of the seventh, Lorelei Spradlin retired the next three Senators to secure the Eagles' sixth home win in eight tries.
Spradlin tallied a season and career-high 6.1 innings and nine strikeouts in her freshman season, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and no free passes, recording her third win.
"I talked to her after the game and said you gave up seven hits, but you had no walks," Graves said. "You can afford to spray some hits here and there if you don't walk people, and she was very effective with that."
Alyssia Munoz is credited with the loss for the Senators after allowing six runs on eight hits through 1.2 innings of work. Saylor Kneeland effectively stopped the bleeding, allowing one run on four hits and keeping Davis & Elkins in the game.
With the win, C-N enters a four-game road trip winners of its last three, heading to Columbus State for a Sunday doubleheader before a Monday twin-bill against Shorter.
C-N and Columbus State get underway on Sunday at 1 p.m., with a second game to follow.
The games will be available on FloSports ($) and live stats at cneagles.com/livestats.
For updates throughout the Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
