Jefferson City, Tenn. – The No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (40-5, 17-1) swept Carson-Newman (27-17, 7-11), 3-1 and 7-5, to claim the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship outright Saturday afternoon at Vicki-Kazee Hollifield Complex. LR also ran its winning streak to 14 consecutive games.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Carson-Newman 1; Lenoir-Rhyne 7, Carson-Newman 5 (eight innings)
Records: No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne (40-5, 17-1 SAC), Carson-Newman (27-17, 7-11 SAC)
Location: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Complex | Jefferson City, Tenn.
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STATS OF THE GAME (Game 1):
• Lenoir-Rhyne junior
Brandi Parks (Roaring River, N.C.) improved to 18-3 on the year and won her 14th consecutive game. Parks struck out four batters in the complete game victory.
• Lenoir-Rhyne freshman first baseman
Kylee Leonhardt (Lincolnton, N.C.) opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning and finished with a pair of hits to lead the Bears. LR freshman outfielder
Savannah Moorefield (Claudville, Va.) added a run-scoring single for the Bears.
• For Carson-Newman, Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) drove in a run but Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) fell to 17-9 after taking the loss.
STATS OF THE GAME (Game 2):
• Trailing by a 4-1 score entering the top of the seventh inning, Lenoir-Rhyne plated three runs to force extra innings then added three more runs in the eighth frame to complete the rally and sweep Carson-Newman.
• Lenoir-Rhyne senior catcher
Mackenzie Cates (Efland, N.C.) tied the contest at four with a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh before Moorefield came through with the game-winning, two-run double in the eighth. Moorefield finished with four hits in the contest.
• Freshman
Kimberly Blair (Knoxville, Tenn.) (2-0) earned the victory for the Bears while junior
Emily Kenley (Charlotte, N.C.) retired the last two batters for her first save of the season.
• For Carson-Newman, Rinus hit a two-run home run and finished with four hits and three runs batted in but fell to 17-10 after being tagged with the loss.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Lenoir-Rhyne is 38-2 in its last 40 contests.
• LR won its 12th South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship in school history including its seven league title outright and third straight conference championship.
• Cates leads the team with 11 home runs on the season.
UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Newberry in its regular season finale for a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., at Bears Field. Carson-Newman, meanwhile, travels to Young Harris, Ga., to face Young Harris in a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
