GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Ashley Burke tallied three hits and Shanda Kimbrough drove in three runs to lead the Tusculum College softball team to a doubleheader split with Carson-Newman College in South Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday at Red Edmonds Field. Tusculum won game one by a score of 8-3 before Carson-Newman held off a late rally in the night cap en route to a 7-3 win.
Carson-Newman (28-5, 7-3 SAC) out-hit the Pioneers by a 19-13 margin, including a 13-6 advantage in game two. Both teams struggled in the field, combining for seven errors (C-N 4, TC 3).
Burke paced the Pioneers with three hits, going 3-for-7 on the day with an RBI and two runs scored. Lynnsey Jett, Racheal Wilburn and Phlyscia Powell each tallied two hits on the day, as Wilburn led Tusculum with three runs scored and seven Pioneers recorded at least one RBI.
Holli Cadenhead (6-7) made the start in game one for the Pioneers, pitching the full seven innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits and striking out six. Erin Searcy (4-7) got the nod in game two, lasting four and one-third innings while allowing seven runs before Elizabeth Johnson came in and tossed two and two-thirds scoreless frames of relief.
Sara Little paced the Eagles with four hits in eight at-bats, driving in five of Carson-Newman's 11 runs on the day. Mary Shealy and Jessie Howard each tallied three hits for the Eagles as Howard and Leah Price led the team with three runs scored.
Ashley Boyd (16-2) made the start for Carson-Newman in game one, allowing five earned runs on three hits and walking three in three and one-thirds innings of work. Jennifer Long pitched two and two-thirds innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits. Mary Shealy (9-3) got the nod in game two, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out three in seven innings of work.
Game One: Tusculum 8, Carson-Newman 3 - (Box Score)
Carson-Newman opened the scoring in the top of the first, taking an early 1-0 lead when Price advanced to third and scored on a wild pitch. Tusculum responded with six two-out runs in the second, jumping out to a 6-1 lead on four hits, an Eagle error, and four walks. After the Pioneers loaded the bases with one out on a Burke single sandwiched between walks to Wilburn and Kimbrough, Tasha Morrell battled through a seven-pitch at-bat to draw a bases-loaded free pass and tie the game at 1-1.
Sophomores Savannah Ewing and Brittany Hunley then produced back-to-back RBI singles, scoring Burke and Kimbrough to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead. Taylor MacDonald then drew a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 4-1. Powell followed with a single to the pitcher, driving in Ewing and advancing to second when the second baseman's throw went wide, allowing Hunley to score from second to give the Pioneers a 6-1 advantage.
The Eagles answered with two runs in the third, cutting the lead to 6-3 on a two-run single by Little. Tusculum later added two runs in the sixth to equal the final margin of 8-3 on an RBI single by Burke and a sacrifice fly by Kimbrough.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 7, Tusculum 3 - (Box Score)
Carson-Newman opened the scoring with a run in each of the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead. The Eagles then added four runs in the fourth, pushing the margin to 6-0 with a three-hit inning that was capped by Little's two-out, two-run double to left center.
After Carson-Newman added a run in the fifth to push the lead to 7-0, Tusculum began to rally in the sixth inning, plating three runs on four hits and an Eagle error to cut the margin to 7-3 in a frame that included a two-run double by Kimbrough. Shealy shut the door from there, retiring the final five batters of the game to preserve the win.
Tusculum returns to the diamond on Saturday when the Pioneers host Catawba College in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Red Edmonds Field to continue their conference schedule.
- TC -
