ROME, Ga. – Carson-Newman (11-7) responded to a pair of losses over the weekend, exploding for 26 runs against Shorter (4-12) in a doubleheader sweep, mashing six home runs, five of which came in a run-rule effort in game one.

"It was a great effort after yesterday," head coach Michael Graves said. "We played like we had something to prove… The key to how successful we are going to be the rest of the season is whether or not we get today's attention, effort, and desire to succeed each time we step on the field. If we do, I like our chances."

GAME ONE: C-N 19, Shorter 0

The Eagles got a solid start early, as Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) doubled with one out in the first, advancing to third on a passed ball before Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) opened the scoring on an RBI single to give C-N the early advantage.

Shorter had one of its most productive outputs of the day in the first, putting runners on first and second on a pair of singles. However, Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) got the final out of the frame to finish a scoreless first inning.

C-N led off the top of the second inning with an Abbi Martin (Gadsden, Ala.) single, and the junior quickly moved into scoring position on a stolen base and a passed ball. Syerra Rogers worked a walk and then moved to second on a stolen base before SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) scored two on an RBI double.

With two outs in the inning, Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) launched her third home run of the season and the 33^rd of her career, matching Sara Little's total for 2^nd on the Carson-Newman all-time home run list. The two-run shot capped off a four-run second inning as C-N's lead grew to five runs.

Rogers worked another scoreless frame in the bottom half, allowing C-N's offense to return to the plate with the momentum. After a pitch plunked Brooklyn Lucero to start the frame, Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) sent her team-high seventh home run to dead center, extending the lead to 7-0.

The long ball onslaught would continue in the 3rd after Abbi Martin's second single, as Syerra Rogers mashed her first of the year on a two-run blast to left. After a SieAnna Cameron walk, Hayden Dye hit C-N's third home run of the inning to extend the Eagle lead to double digits. Mari Robbins tallied her second RBI hit of the inning to cap off the scoring in the 3^rd, scoring two on an RBI single to make it 13-0 C-N.

The impressive scoring effort continued in the 4^th, as Addie Saunders (Radford, Va.) ripped a two-out pinch-hit RBI single before Brooklyn Lucero scored two on a two-RBI single to center. Mari Robbins capped off C-N's 4th with her second home run of the game on a two-run blast. Robbins' eight home runs are the most in the South Atlantic Conference through the first stretch of the season.

C-N would add one more in the 5^th on a SieAnna Cameron RBI single, making it 19-0 C-N. C-N's 19 runs mark its highest tally of the season and its fourth double-digit scoring effort. It's the most runs C-N has scored since exploding for 23 runs against Wheeling State on March 10^th, 2024. C-N's five home runs are the most in a contest since the Eagles did the same against Newberry in 2023.

Syerra Rogers dealt her fifth scoreless inning to close the game, stranding two Hawks on the base to end the game. Rogers surrendered just five hits, striking out four and delivering C-N's second run-rule shutout for her fourth win of 2025.

Rylee Gattis got the start for Shorter and was dealt the loss after tossing the first two innings, allowing seven runs on six hits. Valery Baxter recorded two outs as C-N generated six runs on five hits off the relief arm. Emily Brunson finished the final 2.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits, but struck out three.

GAME TWO: C-N 7, Shorter 1

The Eagles were the aggressors again in game two, as SieAnna Cameron reached on an error before Macauley Bailey flew out to the right, and a throwing error scored Cameron from second to give C-N a 1-0 lead in the first.

Freshman Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) got the start and picked up right where she left off. Despite a one-out single, Spradlin stranded the lone first-inning baserunner after retiring the next two.

C-N went scoreless in the second and third, allowing Shorter to generate some momentum for the first time in the home half of the third inning. A one-out double from Esperanza Reyes gave Shorter a rare runner in scoring position, and she eventually came in to score on a two-out error as the Hawks drew even for the first time.

The Eagles and Hawks were not deadlocked for long. The C-N offense had an answer in the 4^th, as Mari Robbins and Abbi Martin notched back-to-back singles, and Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) moved them station-to-station on a sac bunt. SieAnna Cameron stepped in with runners on second and third, scoring them on a single through the left side. Hayden Dye capped off the Eagles' fourth inning with her second home run of the day, a two-run blast that gave C-N a comfortable four-run advantage.

Shorter's offense was held at bay the rest of the game as Spradlin dealt three scoreless frames to finish the contest. C-N would add one in both the fifth and the sixth, one on an error and another on an RBI double from Hayden Dye, capping off a 4-for-4 effort.

Lorelei Spradlin reset her season and career-long outing, tossing her first seven-inning complete game. The freshman allowed six hits and struck out three, with the lone Shorter run coming across unearned, earning her fourth win in her freshman campaign.

Shorter's Alana Loyd went five innings, allowing four earned runs on eleven hits while striking out four. Chloe Jones pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits and no earned runs. Three Eagle runs came across unearned due to six Shorter errors.

Cameron, Dye, Robbins, and Warder all tallied multi-hit days, with Cameron and Dye cashing in multiple runs.

C-N will be back in action on Saturday, returning home to take on Southern Wesleyan in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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.