SAC Softball Championship Day Two Recaps

No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne 6, No. 5 Lincoln Memorial 5

MIDDLESBORO, Ky. -- Jody Mizelle connected on a go-ahead, RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth to lead the top-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Bears to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over the fifth-seeded Lincoln Memorial Lady Railsplitters on day two of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship on Friday in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Lenoir-Rhyne (39-13) survives and advances to face Anderson on Friday afternoon, while Lincoln Memorial (26-17) is eliminated from postseason play.

The Lady Railsplitters took the lead two times and tied it on one other occasion, but the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears answered at every turn by scoring in the bottom half of all of LMU's scoring frames.

After a more than hour and half rain delay, the Lady Railsplitters and Bears traded runs in the third frame. LMU's Brianna Mulkey singled and smartly advanced to the vacant second base. While attempting to catch Mulkey taking the extra bag, L-R starter MaryAnn Hoskins threw the ball into right field, allowing Mulkey to take third. She then scored on a wild pitch. The Bears' Haily Jarman erased that score with a two-out blast in the bottom of the inning.

The Lady Railsplitters moved back into the driver's seat two innings later as freshman Jennifer Moose belted a two-out, three-run blast to dead center field in the top of the fifth. But, Lenoir-Rhyne responded once again. Mizelle trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with a leadoff home run in the bottom of that inning, while Lauren Elder came through with a bases-loaded double that skipped past Mulkey in center field, allowing all three runs to cross.

Lincoln Memorial briefly knotted the game with a Kirstin Toole RBI-single in the top of the sixth, but Mizelle dropped the eventual game-winning hit just in front of Emilee Solomon in left field, scoring Dakota Keller, who led off the frame with a single.

The Bears outhit the Lady Railsplitters, 10-8, with Mizelle and Jarman leading the way with a pair of knocks. Elder finished the afternoon 1-for-3 with three RBI, while Mizelle contributed two RBI. Mulkey paced Lincoln Memorial with three singles and a run scored, while Moose posted a team-high three RBI.

Hoskins was chased from the contest after 4 2/3 innings, but Brandi Hole stepped up in relief for the Bears. Hole improved to 20-4 after allowing only two hits and one runs in 2 1/3 innings. Samantha Smith was saddled with the loss for Lincoln Memorial after allowing nine hits and six runs with four strikeouts in five innings pitched.

No. 2 Anderson 7, No. 3 Wingate 3

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The second-seeded Anderson Trojans scored at least one run in each of the first five innings, pacing a 7-3 win over the third-seeded Wingate Bulldogs on the second day of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship on Friday in Harrogate, Tennessee. Anderson (40-10) remains in the winner's bracket and advances to play the winner of the Catawba-Tusculum bout on Saturday, while Wingate (33-17) must return to action to square off with top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday evening.

Four different Trojans posted multiple hits in the contest, led by Abby Child who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Danielle Swygert added a pair of RBI while going 2-for-4, while Bri Cason scored twice with two hits. Katelynn Howser went the distance for Anderson, improving to 17-5 after allowing seven hits and three runs with three strikeouts.

Alexis Burrell was the lone Wingate hitter with multiple knocks as she went 2-for-4, while Taylor Laskey drove in two runs, walked twice and added a hit. Stacey Houser was dealt the loss, only her eighth of the season, as she allowed eight hits and six earned runs in five innings pitched.

Wingate did every bit of its damage in the top of the first as Taylor Laskey doubled home a pair of runs before scoring on another two-bagger off the bat of Kayla Saliga. After allowing that three-spot, though, the Anderson Trojans proceeded to score seven-unanswered runs.

Abby Child almost cut the deficit all the way back in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run, while Jessica Neidigh would even the score with a sacrifice fly out in the next inning. Abby's sister, Molly Child, propped the Trojans to a 4-3 advantage with a solo blast in the bottom of the third.

The Trojans combined for three runs in the next two innings to put the game out of reach as Abby Child doubled in a pair of runs in the fourth, while Neidigh singled in another in the fifth. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, only put one base runner aboard in their final two plate appearances.

No. 8 Catawba 2, No. 4 Tusculum 0

HARROGATE, Tenn. – Right-handers Caroline Turner and Carley Tysinger combined to throw a five-hitter as the eighth-seeded Catawba Indians continued its run through the winner's bracket with a 2-0 victory over the fourth-seeded Tusculum Pioneers on Friday at Dorothy Neely Field. The Indians (26-19) will face second-seeded Anderson at 2 p.m. on Saturday, while the Pioneers (31-23) return to the field on Friday against seventh-seeded Carson-Newman.

After Tysinger's record-breaking, 282-pitch, 27-strikeout start that went deep into Thursday night, freshman Caroline Turner stepped in to make the spot start for the Indians on Friday. Turner sparkled and improved to 5-5 on the season after shutting the Pioneers down through 4 1/3 strong innings, allowing only three hits while striking out one. Tysinger did earn the save, though, as she struck out four batters and surrendered only two hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

Catawba was limited to only five hits by Tusculum senior hurler Kelly King, but Taylor Adams recorded the most significant knock of the contest. Katherine Shumaker drew a leadoff walk, Sydney Hyder singled and Natalie Naturile posted a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the second. That's when Adams came in, as she drove in two runs with a double down the left-field line.

The Pioneers, meanwhile, saw their best scoring opportunity slip away in the bottom of the fifth as Paige Sneed and Alix Kruel singled in back-to-back at-bats to put two runners on with one out. With the potential tying run at first, Tysinger was called in to relieve starter Turner. Tysinger promptly fanned Carolyn Williamson and Miranda Beeler in consecutive plate appearances to stomp out the rally.

Tusculum would put its leadoff hitter on base in both the sixth and seventh frames, but Tysinger set three-straight batters down in each of those frames to complete the Indians' combined shutout.

Tusculum's Kelly King suffered the loss despite allowing only five hits and two earned runs with one strikeout in the complete game. She falls to 19-12 on the season with the loss.

No. 7 Carson-Newman 17, No. 6 Brevard 7

MIDDLESBORO, Ky. -- The seventh-seeded Carson-Newman Eagles staved off elimination, blasting two home runs and collecting 20 hits in a 17-7 six-inning win over the sixth-seeded Brevard Tornados on day two of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Jacket Softball Field in Middlesboro, Kentucky. The Eagles (33-17) survive and move on for a duel against fourth-seeded Tusculum, while the Tornados (22-25) are officially eliminated for the SAC Championship.

Kelli Hensley and Elayna Siebert carried the potent Eagle attack at the top of the order with four hits apiece. Hensley broke the SAC single season record for hits by going 4-for-5 with four runs scored, while Siebert drove in two while also notching a 4-for-5 outing. Sara Kelley and Brittany Hefner both homered in the contest as Kelley finished with two hits and three RBI, while Hefner drove in four with her only hit in the game. Brittany Bass went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI out of the five hole.

After hanging up a three-spot on four hits in the top of the first, the Eagles continued their offensive assault in the second frame. Siebert sparked Carson-Newman's six-run flurry with a two-RBI double, while Hefner plated Hensley with a groundout. Bass singled in the next at-bat to score Siebert, and Bass later scored on a wild pitch. Haley Taylor capped the flourish with a run-scoring single.

Kelley expanded the Eagles' lead to 11-0 with a two-run home run to right field in the top of the third, while Hensley bulged it to 12-0 by scoring on a wild pitch in the fourth.

Brevard finally broke through in the home half of the fourth behind Emily Boykin's one-out, two-run double, but Lance doubled in a run for the Eagles and Bass scored on a passed ball in the next frame to make it 13-2.

The Tornados briefly avoided the run-rule as Dallas Heaton hammered a grand slam and Kinsey Parrish mashed a solo blast in back-to-back at-bats in the bottom of the fifth. But, Hefner connected on a three-run homer in the visitor's half of the third to bring it back into effect.

Cassie Lyons picked up the win for the Eagles after allowing only two hits with no earned runs in three innings pitched, improving to 9-2 on the season in victory. Brevard's Jamie Hrobak fell to 16-10, as she was chased from the contest after allowing nine hits and nine earned runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched.

No. 3 Wingate 1, No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne 0

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The third-seeded Wingate Bulldogs and top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears went toe-to-toe in a scoreless pitcher's duel through six innings on Friday in Harrogate, Tennessee before designated player Kayla Saliga broke the silence with a solo blast in the top of the seventh, lifting the Bulldogs to a 1-0 win on day two of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Dorothy Neely Field.

Wingate (34-17) advances to Saturday's action, where the winner of No.7 Carson-Newman and No.4 Tusculum awaits. Lenoir-Rhyne (39-13), meanwhile, bows out of the tournament after earning a share of the regular-season championship. The Bears, who were ranked fourth in the most recent NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll will seek an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament.

Wingate's Stacey Houser and Lenoir-Rhyne's Brandi Hole traded zeroes through six frames, matching each other pitch for pitch until Hole blinked first. After allowing only a pair of singles to Mellena Helms, Hole served up a one-out, solo home run to the Bulldogs' Kayla Saliga, who crept the ball over the foul pole in left field to prop Wingate to a 1-0 advantage in the top of the seventh.

Houser allowed only one hit through the first six frames, but Ashley Oliver made it two with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. A muffed throw on Brittany Coursen's bunt attempt put two runners on for the Bears with no outs. Ciera Cockerham bunted Oliver and Coursen into scoring position for nine-hole hitter Dakota Keller. Keller promptly laced a liner to Alexis Burrell at short, who made the snag and caught Oliver sagging off the base at third, completing the game-ending 6-5 double play.

Houser improved to 22-9 as the All-SAC First Team selection dazzled with a complete-game, two-hitter. Houser struck out two and walked four in the shutout victory. L-R's Hole suffered the hard-luck loss as she drops to 21-4 overall. Hole allowed three hits and one run with two strikeouts in seven frames.

Catcher Sarah Kenley recorded Lenoir-Rhyne's only hit aside from Oliver's seventh-inning single. Mellena Helms was responsible for two of the three hits against Hole as she posted a two base knocks.

No. 7 Carson-Newman 6, No. 4 Tusculum 3 (8 innings)

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The seventh-seeded Carson-Newman Eagles plated three runs in the top of the eighth inning to capture a 6-3 win over the fourth-seeded Tusculum Pioneers on the second day of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, Tennessee. Carson-Newman (34-17) stays alive and moves on to face the Wingate Bulldogs at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, while Tusculum (31-24) is eliminated from tournament contention.

Carson-Newman stranded runners at third in the first and second frames, while the Tusculum Pioneers propped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the second. Tavi Parris was hit by a pitch and Alix Kruel walked in front of All-SAC Second Team honoree Carolyn Williamson, who cleared the bases with a triple into the gap in left center.

The Eagles bounced back quickly in the very next plate appearance as Kelli Hensley and Sara Howard singled to bring slugger Brittany Hefner to the plate. For the third-consecutive SAC Championship contest, reigning SAC Player of the Year Hefner went deep, driving a towering three-run home run to straightaway center field, catapulting Carson-Newman to a 3-2 advantage.

The Pioneers mustered only one hit, a two-out double by Katie Brennan, in the third and fourth stanzas, but a Carson-Newman miscue provided Tusculum with a lift in the fifth. Williamson led off the frame with a swinging strikeout, but the ball skirted away from Eagle catcher Hayley Burnette, putting the tying run on first. Two batters later, Kaytlin Stroinski knotted the contest by scorching a three-base hit to left center. The Pioneers had an opportunity to seize the lead with Stroinski sitting on third with one out, but back-to-back groundouts left her stranded.

Zeroes were hung up in the sixth and seventh frames for both the Pioneers and the Eagles, extending the contest into extra innings. It took only one additional go-around for Carson-Newman to re-assert control as Jessica Morgan sparked an eventual three-run flourish by absorbing a hit-by-pitch to the helmet. A fielding error on Burnette's bunt put two aboard for Haley Taylor, who ripped a two-run triple (the fifth total triple of the contest) past the Tusculum right-fielder. Taylor then came around to score on a sacrifice fly out by Hensley.

Carson-Newman's Cassie Lyons dusted off her complete game in the bottom of the eighth, setting the side down in order with three-straight groundouts. Lyons finished the evening with seven hits and three runs allowed in eight innings pitched. Kelli Hensley was 3-for-4 for the Eagles with one RBI and one run scored, while Sara Kelley went 3-for-5. Hefner drove in three runs with her third-inning home run.

Tusculum senior Kelly King was saddled with the loss after relinquishing 11 hits and six runs over her eight-inning start. Kaytlin Stroinski and Courtney Hutcherson paced the Pioneers with 2-for-4 showings.