Posted: Apr 08, 2009
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- The Carson-Newman College
softball team (21-13, 5-5 SAC) swept a South Atlantic Conference
doubleheader with Tusculum College (12-24, 3-7 SAC) on Wednesday,
taking game one by a score of 11-3 before notching a 6-0 shutout in
the nightcap.Alex Kimbrell paced the Pioneers with three hits on the day, including a 2-for-2 performance in game one. Rachel Hopper and Jessica McKee each added two base knocks as Hopper drove in all three runs in game one for the Pioneers with her third home run of the season.
Holli Cadenhead (7-14) made the start for Tusculum in game one, pitching five innings and striking out four Eagles. Ali Hansen (2-5) got the nod in the night cap and threw six innings, allowing four earned runs and recording two strikeouts.
Carson-Newman's Leah Price led the way for the Eagles with four hits in five at-bats while Sarah Little drove in a team-high four runs, all in game one. Whitney Durham, Mary Shealy and Amber Hewitt each had three hits in the twin-bill as seven different Eagles drove in at least one run. Stephanie Templeton also launched two solo home runs in the doubleheader as three different Eagles tallied a round-tripper on the day.
Templeton (4-1) made the start for Carson-Newman in game one and pitched the full six innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five. Shealy (13-9) followed with a seven inning shutout in game two, allowing seven hits while walking one and striking out four.
Game One: Carson-Newman 11, Tusculum 3
Carson-Newman's offense dictated the flow of the afternoon in game one, scoring at least one run in every inning, including four tallies in the second stanza. Jessica Howard led off the first inning for the Eagles with an inside-the-park home run to left field, giving the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
The Eagles stretched the lead to 5-0 in the second, scoring four runs on four hits, including a two-run triple by Howard. With the lead at 6-0 in the fourth, Little launched her first of two home runs, hitting a 2-1 pitch over the wall in center field to push the margin to 8-0.
Tusculum got on the board with three runs in the fifth, putting runners on first and second with two outs for Hopper. The freshman catcher worked the count full, and launched the seventh pitch of the at-bat over the wall in left center for a three-run home run to cut the lead to 8-3. The round-tripper was Hopper's team-leading third four-bagger of the season.
Carson-Newman answered with one run in the bottom of the fifth when Templeton deposited a 1-1 pitch on top of the batting cages in left field for a solo home run. Little then hit a walk-off two-run home run in the sixth to stretch the lead to 11-3 and invoke the eight-run rule.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 6, Tusculum 0
The Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two, pushing a pair of runs across on RBI base knocks by Shealy and Templeton. Carson-Newman added a run in the fourth to stretch the lead to 3-0, before pushing three runs across in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
Tusculum returns to the diamond on Friday when the Pioneers travel to Salisbury, N.C. for a SAC doubleheader against Catawba College. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
- TC
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