GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Carson-Newman got the better of Tusculum with a doubleheader sweep in South Atlantic Conference action on the softball diamond on Tuesday (Mar. 24).
Tusculum (11-17, 1-7 SAC) is on the road for its next two SAC series to wrap up the month: at Wingate (Mar. 28) and Lincoln Memorial (Mar. 31).
Game 1: RV Carson-Newman 3, Tusculum 1
The Eagles scored three unanswered runs to take game one, but the Pioneers ended Macauley Bailey’s 51-game on base streak, which dated back to last season. Both Ellie Alvarez and Ava Hallows recorded two hits in the loss.
Tusculum broke the scoreless draw with an Ava Hallows solo home run in the fourth inning on the ninth pitch of the at bat.
Chelsey Stonesifer took a perfect game into the fifth inning and Carson-Newman gave her one bad inning. All three runs and three of the four hits came in the frame. After a leadoff double, the Eagles drew a four-pitch walk and bunted it over. Two runs scored on the next hit. A two-out hit gave C-N an insurance run.
Stonesifer (9-6) lost her first home game as a Pioneer after a solid effort in the circle. She went all seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Game 2: RV Carson-Newman 13, Tusculum 1 (5 innings)
The Eagles scored eight runs in the top of the fifth, including five unearned, to run-rule the Pioneers in the nightcap.
C-N led 4-0 after the first inning, recording a three-run homer and a two-out RBI single in the span.
TU’s lone run came in the third. Andrea Davis led off the frame with a single back up the middle. Katie Jones bunted her over. Abby Cruz singled to the shortstop, but Davis got caught in a pickle. She was bailed out on a miscue to reach third safely. Alvarez raced out a single as Davis scored an unearned run.
The Eagles tacked on another run in the fourth, despite Taylor Hancock‘s stellar play behind the plate. She threw a runner out at second on a bullet to Izzy Wilson. Hancock later caught Bailey sleeping on a stroll back to first, picking her off on a strong throw to Hallows.
The score ballooned in the fifth. Carson-Newman led off with three-straight singles, but the next two plays were outs at the plate. A wild pitch scored a run, but the bases were loaded again on a walk. The Eagles used four hits and a TU error to plate seven more runs, putting the game into run-rule territory.
Aleyia Satterfield (2-8) tossed four innings, allowing eight runs on 14 hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Dani Beckham pitched the last inning, relenting five unearned runs on four hits with a walk.
