VIDEO: Kristen Toppel Interview 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the second part in a three-part series breaking down Carson-Newman softball's positions.  This feature analyzes the Eagles' infield with assistance from shortstop Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.).

The left side of the Eagles' infield has veteran status.  Toppel has started 85 games in her career as shortstop, while Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) makes the move to third base after 61 career starts elsewhere in the field. 

"At this point we both come into our junior year looking to put finesse on our games," Toppel said. "It's not so much mechanics, it more about trying to get rid of that ground ball as fast as you can."

A Tennessee Sportswriters' Association Player of the Week, Pritchett was prodigious in early March when the sophomore pounded out 11 hits in 13 at bats for an .846 average with a trio of doubles, pair of home runs, septet of runs batted in and a triumvirate of runs scored.  

The Ringgold, Ga., native went 2-for-3 with a walk in the opener of a doubleheader against UVA-Wise and collected three hits with a solo homer in the second game versus the Cavaliers.  At the time playing first, she then pounded out a school-record matching three doubles in game two versus concord while going 4-for-4 at the plate in the series finale versus the Mountain Lions.  

Pritchett hit .263 for the year with 33 runs batted in, nine doubles, a triple and seven home runs.  She walked 25 times.  Pritchett had nine multi-hit games, topping out with the four-hit performance against Concord.  She had eight multi-RBI performances on the season, including a pair of four-RBI games against King and Concord.

Meanwhile, Toppel earned honorable mention All-SAC honors as a sophomore. Toppel  hit .345 for the year and produced a 16-game hitting streak between February and March for the Eagles, the fourth longest in school history.  

The sophomore finished in the top 15 in the conference in eight offensive statistical categories.  Toppel tallied up 15 multi-hit performances, second on the team to first team All-SAC second baseman Elayna Siebert, and five multi-RBI days.  

She had a pair of three-hit performances on the season at Clark Atlanta and Tusculum, while she produced a trio of runs batted in against Belmont Abbey, Bluefield State and USC Aiken. She peaked in early March when she won TSWA player of the week.  Toppel batted .526 (10-for-19) with one double, two home runs, seven RBIs and eight runs scored in six games for the Eagles. The Roanoke, Va., native posted two hits in both games of a doubleheader versus Bluefield State College, scoring twice in the opener and hitting a three-run inside-the-park homer in the second contest.

Toppel said she hopes she and Pritchett can set the tone for the youth at first and second.  

"We have to bring leadership to the right side of the field," Toppel said. "We know what they're going through as freshman.  We know what it feels like in their shoes and to keep the energy up at practice."

Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) and Taylor Scott (Huntington, W.Va.) have inserted themselves into the conversation very quickly at second and first, respectively. 

Fiessinger, a Marshall County product, was a varsity starter for the Lady Marshals Softball team since seventh grade and a leader both on and off the field, receiving multiple awards including 2015 Region 1 Player of the Year, 2014 and 2015 All-Region Teams, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Defense and Offense Awards and a member of the Junior West All-Star Team. Fiessinger currently holds several Marshall County High School records including highest season batting average, highest on-base percentage, most hits in a season, most doubles in a season, most RBI in a season with a career batting average of .479.

Scott makes her way to Mossy Creek from Spring Valley High School where she batted .415 with five dingers and 30 RBI in 26 games during her junior season.  She earned second team All-MSAC honors as a sophomore before being picked all-state as a junior. She helped the Timberwolves to an MSAC championship her sophomore season and a sectional title her junior year. 

"They never take a ball off," Toppel said. "It feels good to know that's already there with a fresh young look on the right side of the field. I know the pressure that they feel, and they will make mistakes.  But they won't let those mistakes mount.  They'll be right there the next time the ball's hit their way." 

Carson-Newman rounds out its infield with Erin Stanley (Coeburn, Va.), who has seen spot duty at third the last two seasons, Janelle Benzick (Virginia Beach, Va.) and freshman Mikayla Williams (Newport, Tenn.).

Carson-Newman softball's position previews wrap up Saturday with a look at the Eagles' pitchers and catchers with assistance from Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.).