JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Brevard College softball team traveled to Carson-Newman in its first South Atlantic Conference action on the road this season, falling to the Eagles by scores of 12-4 and 3-0.
The Eagles rocked Brevard ace Jamie Hrobak in the first game, exploding for 11 runs in 2.2 innings off the junior right-handed ace. Carson-Newman broke through with a five-spot in the third inning to take a 5-4 lead, with the biggest blow coming on a two-run shot to left field by Brooke Ramsey to complete the scoring in the inning.
The comeback was necessitated by a huge inning from the Tornados at the plate in the first. Brevard sent ten batters to the plate in an inning that began with a four-pitch walk to Michelle Ray. Kinny Davis continued the inning with an infield single, then a one-out walk loaded the bases. Paige Atkison opened the scoring with a two-run single down the right field line before bases-loaded walks to Dallas Heaton and Mary Cloninger gave Brevard four runs in the frame.
Carson-Newman went up 6-4 with a single run in the fourth before blowing the game open in the fifth inning with six additional runs off of Hrobak. The Eagles' Sarah Howard earned the win, giving up three hits in 4.2 innings pitched.
In the second contest, Casey Whitaker had a solid pitching performance despite suffering the loss. She gave up seven hits across six innings and allowed three runs to score. She sat down three hitters on strikes and needed exactly 100 pitches to complete her outing.
Carson-Newman broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the fourth inning. Elayna Siebert guided a leadoff single up the middle, ending a stretch in which Whitaker sat down five out of six batters. A double by pitcher Lindsay Dean two pitches later gave Carson-Newman its first run of the game before the Eagles tacked on two more in the fifth inning.
Dean had a tremendous outing for the Eagles, allowing six hits in a complete-game seven innings of work. She allowed three free passes and did not retire a Tornados hitter on strikes, but stranded eight runners on the basepaths.
The Tornados will play their first true home conference games of the season on Saturday as Brevard hosts Lenoir-Rhyne. First pitch of Saturday's twinbill is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
