VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (21-13, 6-2 South Atlantic) head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield wants the Eagles to attack with a renewed zeal and intensity when they head over to the Palmetto State to face off with Newberry (22-12, 3-5 SAC) at the Smith Road Complex Saturday afternoon.
Carson-Newman has gone 3-5 over its last four doubleheaders while its offense has been mired in the doldrums. The Eagles are averaging but 1.875 runs per game over that time.
"We've got to come bacl and play aggressively," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "This applies to the defensive side of the ball too. It's been frustrating for coach Graves and I to sit back and watch the same thing repeatedly happen to us. We've played aggressively for 31 years and I don't see the need to change that.
"For hitting, it's all about discipline at the plate and being a good decision maker. Whether it's the first pitch or the fifth pitch, if it's a strike, we better have the hands ready to go after it."
Additionally, Carson-Newman is hitting .170 as a team the last four doubleheaders. Among individuals, Shon Jordan (Hermitage, Tenn.) and Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) have the top averages on the team in that span of games. Both are hitting .231.
Talisa Fiame (Pacifica, Calif.) is the only other regular hitting better than .200, she's 5-for-23 at the plate (.217).
Along those same lines, the Eagles' normally reliable Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) and Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) haven't been able to find their groove at the plate. Both players have half of their overall total season strikeouts in the last eight games. Pritchett has struck out 11 times in that span of games, Toppel has gone down on strikes nine times.
Of the 15 runs Carson-Newman has scored in the last week, seven have come as a result of home runs. Carson-Newman has three hits in 51 at bats as a team the last eight games with runners in scoring position, good for a .056 average in those situations.
"For anybody in our league and in our region, you always have to go all out," Kazee-Hollifield said. "You have to play all out because it's like a basketball game. You can't pick and choose when you get to run fast and get up and down the court, you better beat your opponent back every time. It's the same thing in our game, we've got to anticipate the ball coming to us, and the same thing in the batter's box, anticipate a strike and be ready to go after it."
Maude McCurry leads the Newberry pitching staff and stands in the way of the Eagles' bats reawakening. McCurry is second in the SAC in wins this year with 12. She has a 2.28 ERA and a .227 batting average against.
She has gotten good run support a lineup that carries a .296 average and features Christina Linton's bat. Linton's hitting .402 with a team-best eight doubles, four homers and 23 runs batted in.
First pitch between the Eagles and Wolves is set for 1 p.m. Coverage of the games will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live.
