VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Plagued by a pair of big innings, Carson-Newman (3-2) dropped a doubleheader to Lee (4-1) at home on Wednesday afternoon, 16-7 and 11-5.

"In general, we've got to grow up and get mentally tougher," Graves said. "We're not very tough right now. We just got smacked in the mouth, and we stood there with our hands behind our backs… Until we learn to get tougher, it will keep happening."

The Eagles led at a point in both games, but a few innings that eventually unraveled on C-N proved to be the difference.

GAME ONE: Lee 16, Carson-Newman 7

Following a couple of hard-hit balls in the second, Mari Robbins (Sweetwater, Tenn.) cracked the run column for C-N with her first long ball of the season, the first of what turned out to be a home run barrage at The Vick.

Lee's Hailey Simko put the Flames in front in the 3^rd, mashing a two-run blast to make it 2-1. The Flames' lead lasted until the bottom of the 4^th when Brooklyn Lucero (Loma, Colo.) sent a towering shot over the centerfield wall to tie the game at two.

The home run party continued in the 5^th as Ava Perkins cashed in a solo shot to give Lee the 3-2 lead. Lee's Javaria Smith produced the first run of the day, which was not scored via the long ball, ripping an RBI triple to give the Flames a two-run advantage after four-and-a-half.

C-N's most fruitful half-inning came in the bottom of the 5^th. Wynter Morris (Crozet, Va.) continued her impressive start to her sophomore campaign, scoring one on a pinch-hit single to center. Trinity Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) tied the game at four, scoring on a wild pitch before Hayden Dye (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Eagles the lead with an RBI single. Santana Anderson (Fairmont, N.C.) and Brooklyn Lucero went back-to-back with RBI knocks to put C-N up three heading to the 6^th.

Syerra Rogers (Graysville, Tenn.) would exit after five, allowing five hits, four earned runs, and five strikeouts, leaving the game with the lead.

The Eagles would use three pitchers in the 6^th, with one recording each out, as Lee completely turned the game on its head in the 6^th, starting with a home run from Alyson Jarvi to make it 7-5. The Flames' offense would explode for 11 more runs in the 6^th while tallying 16 hits in the decisive frame to move the game into run-rule territory.

C-N went down scoreless in the 6^th, as Lee earned the 16-7 run-rule victory.

Offensively, C-N was solid despite the loss, with SieAnna Cameron (Alcoa, Tenn.) leading the charge with three hits.

GAME TWO: Lee 11, Carson-Newman 5

Lee started the scoring in game two, as Javaria Smith knocked an RBI single up the middle to give the Flames the advantage in the 1^st.

Similar to game one, C-N answered an early Lee punch with one of its own, scoring the next three runs. In the first, the Eagles tied the game on a flawless double steal, with Hayden Dye nabbing second to distract the Flames from SieAnna Cameron racing home.

In the second frame, Kennady Warder (Harrodsburg, Ky.) crushed her first of two homers in the finale, giving C-N its first lead. In the 3^rd, Santana Anderson scored one on an RBI single to give the Eagles a two-run advantage after three.

In the 4^th, Lee tallied another big inning, scoring six to build a multi-run advantage. Bella Galloway tied the game with a two-run home run before an Ana Macha two-RBI single pushed Lee in front. Hailey Simco's two-RBI double put a stamp on the 4^th, as C-N was presented with another hill to climb.

Warder cranked her second home run of the day in the home half of the 4^th with one away, bringing C-N within three. However, as was the trend throughout the second game, C-N failed to manufacture more than the sole run in the frame. While not being held scoreless in an offensive frame to that point, C-N failed to score more than a run in each of those innings, making the impact of Lee's big 4^th inning loom large.

"We've got to string together hits," Graves said. "We'd have one or two hits here and there, but we just couldn't get a rhythm going. We went back to swinging at bad pitches."

The Flames and the Eagles traded long balls in the 5^th, as Alyson Jarvi crushed a two-RBI blast to make it 9-4 before Mari Robbins left the yard for the second time in the twin bill to make it a four-run game.

Lee would add two in the sixth, and that was all the Flames needed to close out the doubleheader sweep of C-N.

Despite the loss, C-N's offense tallied 20 hits on the day, but the big innings proved costly.

In the circle, Lorelei Spradlin (Blacksburg, Va.) had a solid first three innings, but the costly 4^th frame dented her line. However, the freshman had some highlights in her second career outing, striking out four over 4.1 innings of work. Mariyn Waterman (Oakdale, Calif.) tossed the final 2.2 innings, allowing two runs and four hits.

The Eagles look to regroup quickly, preparing for the Southeast region challenge in Johnson City, where the Eagles will see Converse and Lees-McRae at 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday before matchups with King and Barton on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m.