ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University softball team completed the doubleheader sweep over the Carson-Newman Eagles on Thursday (Apr. 20) to clinch their spot in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference tournament.

Game One

Carson-Newman kicked the game off by laying down back-to-back bunts to get a pair of baserunners on. After Macey Hughes stole second, the Eagles had runners on second and third with no one out. Freshman pitcher Carson Hobbs found herself in an early jam but was able to work out of it with two pop ups and a ground out to escape the half inning scoreless.

Syerra Rogers struggled with control in the bottom of the first inning for the Eagles, allowing four walks to give the Trojans a run without surrendering a hit. In the bottom of the second, the Trojans were able to score another run, picking up the first hit of the game off an RBI single from Ava Worthy, after Olivia Wheeler earned the fifth walk of the game for the Trojans and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts.

The same sequence happened for the Trojan offense in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Carson Hobbs singled to center field to lead the inning off. Hobbs advanced to third after a SAC bunt from Wheeler, and a ground out from Whitaker. Senior Yas Laureano came through in the RBI with a base hit to extend the lead to 3-0.

Carson-Newman aimed to start their comeback in the top of the fifth inning. Mari Robbins reached first on a bunt single, and advanced to second on a throwing error. A few pitches later, Robbins managed to steal third base, and score off another Trojan throwing error for the first run of the game for the Eagles.

Hailey Leslie pitched well for Carson-Newman, coming in relief for Rogers after a rocky start which included five walks. Leslie tossed five innings while allowing one run, sending her team to bat in the top of the seventh inning with the score still at 3-1.

Carmen Holt stepped into the batter's box with one out in the inning and lined a triple down the right field line to bring up the tying run. Carson Hobbs had the Eagles down to their final strike with Mari Robbins at the plate. Robbins got a good pitch to hit and sent it over the left field fence to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Maddie Carpenter led off the seventh inning with a walk, her third of the afternoon. Morgan Charter laid down a great bunt down the third base line and was able to reach base. Kayson Boatner drew her second walk of the game, setting up a bases loaded with nobody out opportunity for Jessica Neadow.

Neadow was able to come through for the Trojans with an RBI single, highlighting her senior day with the walk-off base hit to clinch Anderson's trip to the South Atlantic Conference tournament.

Game Two

Lane Edgington got the starting nod in game two from coach Tommy Hewitt. Mari Robbins carried over her success from game one with a one-out double down the right field line. Macey Hughes followed that up with an RBI single to give Carson-Newman the early 1-0 lead. After a three-up, three-down inning from the Trojan offense, Edgington was able to settle in and pitch a scoreless second inning.

In the bottom of the second, Jessica Neadow narrowly missed a home run, but settled for the one-out double. Carson Hobbs drew a walk to bring Olivia Wheeler to the plate with two runners on. Wheeler turned around on a pitch in the middle of the zone and launched it over the fence for her ninth homer of the season and to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead.

Anderson continued to pour on in the third inning as they scored six more runs. Morgan Charter got the inning started with an RBI double to score Maddie Carpenter. Hobbs picked up an RBI single, and Wheeler drove in two more off a double. Yas Laureano reached base on an infield fielding error which scored two more runs to propel the Trojans to the 9-1 advantage.

Lane Edgington finished the game in five innings while only allowing one run and three hits to earn her 11th victory of the season. Olivia Wheeler tallied five runs batted in on her senior day.

This concludes the regular season for the Anderson Trojans, with the SAC Tournament coming up next weekend. The Trojans are awaiting their opponent, with the action scheduled to begin on Friday (Apr. 28).