VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
VIDEO: Syerra Rogers Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Building on significant momentum, Carson-Newman (15-7) opened SAC play with another stellar offensive showing, downing Newberry (10-17) in a pair of games at The Vick on Tuesday afternoon.
"Today was probably our best day of the year at recognizing balls and strikes," head coach Michael Graves said. "We weren't chasing balls out of the zone… It was tough conditions with the wind blowing straight in, so we adjusted our swings and hit more line drives than what we've been hitting… I think they made good adjustments."
C-N's plate discipline and adjustments led to another offensive outburst, scoring 24 runs in two games en route to the sweep of Newberry.
GAME ONE: Carson-Newman 12, Newberry 3 (five innings)
Carson-Newman struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) worked bases on balls before Santana Anderson delivered the game's first run with a base hit to right. The two-out single gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Newberry countered in the top of the second with a one-out Ella Stone RBI double that tied the game at one. However, back-to-back Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) strikeouts stranded the go-ahead run on third.
C-N got back on top in the third when Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) scored as Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) reached on an error.
However, that lead would be short-lived. Newberry scored twice in the fourth to grab a 3-2 lead.
Bethany Pigg roped an RBI double down the left field line before Ella Stone reached on an error allowing the second run to come across.
Then Carson-Newman exploded for 10 unanswered to win the game via the run rule.
C-N plated seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The rally started with a two-run double to right from Hayden Dye. It continued with Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) slashing a run-scoring single to center.
With the bases loaded, Syerra Rogers drilled a grand slam to left center to give the Eagles a 9-3 advantage. Rogers has homered in three of the last four games for C-N, mashing the Eagles' second grand slam of the season to give herself some run support in the fourth.
"It's been big for me to stay calm," Rogers said. "Be confident in myself. I know that was something I wanted to work on, and I'm doing a lot better at that in all the situations on both sides of the ball."
C-N ended it via the run rule in the bottom of the fifth with RBI base hits from Dye and Brooklyn Lucero.
Rogers logged the complete-game win in the circle to improve to 6-2. She walked five, struck out five and working around three hits.
Lindsey Foster dropped to 5-6 in defeat. She gave up 12 hits and 11 runs, 10 of which were earned, while walking six.
GAME TWO: Carson-Newman 13, Newberry 9
Newberry struck first in the night cap, scoring three times in the top of the first. Haidyn Campbell sliced a two-run single down the left field line before Stone worked a bases loaded walk to score the third run of the inning with one out. Riley Sikes entered the game in the circle and struck out the final two batters of the inning to limit the damage to three runs.
C-N responded in the bottom of the first. SieAnna Cameron tripled to lead off the inning before Hayden Dye drove her in with a sacrifice fly to right. A second run scored on a Lucero sacrifice fly before Rogers drove in two with a single to left center to give C-N a 4-3 lead after one.
The Eagles added on in the fourth. After one-out singles from Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) and Cameron, Dye slashed a two-RBI single to left center to five C-N a 6-3 cushion. The final three runs of the frame would score with two outs. Santana Anderson singled in Dye and a throwing error plated two runs and it was 9-3 Eagles after four innings.
The Wolves responded with a four-run fifth inning. After a leadoff double, Haidyn Campbell singled to right field to plate a run. A single and an error put runners at second and third with nobody out, and Ella Stone grounded out to score a second run. An RBI sacrifice and a Katie Henri single capped the four-run frame.
C-N would get three of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Macauley Bailey launched a 3-2 pitch with two outs over the left center field wall. Bailey's seventh was a three-run home run to make it 12-7 C-N.
After Newberry scored twice in the top of the sixth, C-N would get one run back in the bottom half. Syerra Rogers drove in Mari Robbins with a sac fly to make it a 13-9 game heading to the final frame.
Rogers returned to the circle for the seventh, retiring the first two Wolves before Samantha Clark roped a two-out single to center. However, the senior capped off her impressive day with the final out, forcing a soft fly ball to centerfield by Maddy Staples to end the contest.
Riley Sikes recorded the win for C-N, helping the Eagles work out of an early jam before dealing the next four innings.
"I was trying to get groundballs for my team," Sikes said. "I tend to thrive in pressure situations and coach [Michael] Graves has been putting me in them since my freshman year."
With the pair of wins, C-N's winning streak extends to six, its longest stretch of 2025. C-N returns to The Vick on Saturday, hosting Lincoln Memorial in a heavyweight South Atlantic Conference bout to wrap up a six-game homestand.
The games will be broadcast live on FloSports ($), with an audio-only stream at cneagles.com/live.
For updates throughout the 2025 Carson-Newman softball season, visit cneagles.com/live and follow us on social media @cn_eagles.
