Lady Eagles take two

The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles improved to 9-2 on the season with a sweep of Belmont Abbey (2-11-1) Friday afternoon. C-N won the first game 9-1 and took the second game, 12-4. In the first game, Megan Elliott (East Ridge, Tenn.) turned in an impressive pitching performance as she threw four innings with five strikeouts and no hits. The Lady Eagles exploded for five runs in the bottom of the second inning with Lauren McKaig (Trenton, Ga.) and Erin Rutherford (Knoxville, Tenn.) each picking up two RBI doubles. The Lady Eagles picked up four unearned runs in the third to push the advantage to 9-0. Monica Halligan (Yuma, Ariz.) had the lone hit of the game for the Crusaders as she brought Cameron Green (Charlotte, N.C.) home with a hit in the fifth inning. The Lady Eagles took advantage of six Belmont Abbey walks in the second inning and scored nine runs in the second game, a contest the Lady Eagles won 12-4. C-N trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the first inning but Lisa Rogers (Rossville, Ga.) changed that with a towering three-run homerun to right field. McKaig would belt a threw-run homer of her own in the nine-run second inning for Carson-Newman. The Crusaders loaded the bases and scored two runs in the fifth inning, but Elliott reentered the game and shut the door on a 12-4 victory. Carson-Newman will host Mountain State on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m. Belmont Abbey returns home to host Shippensburg on Feb. 26.