VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-2) head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield will look to become the 19th coach in NCAA history and the sixth in the Division II to win 1,100 games when the Eagles take to the field that bears her name Tuesday.
Kazee-Hollifield sits at 1,098. A sweep of UVA-Wise (3-1) would get Kazee-Hollifield past the post. The Eagles take on the Cavaliers at noon Tuesday.
The game was initially scheduled for 1 p.m., but Kazee-Hollifield requested a noon first pitch with the hope of being able to sneak over to Stokely Cafeteria for the dedication ceremony of Ken Sparks Way at 2 p.m. – the renaming of College Street to honor Carson-Newman's longtime head football coach Ken Sparks and the man who hired Kazee-Hollifield 32 years ago.
"It's going to be a special day for Ken," Kazee-Hollifield said. "I've known him since I've been 18. He was the AD that hired me. But it goes way beyond that. His life and the way he follows Christ and spreads that good news. What a role model and what a blessing to have been able to work for, with and alongside him."
Kazee-Hollifield didn't have to wait for win 1,000 three years ago. The Eagles needed to sweep a doubleheader against Limestone and did so in shutout fashion, taking game one 6-0 before getting Kazee-Hollifield the grand victory 10-0 in the night cap.
UVA-Wise has had a peculiar start to the season. The Cavs can boast of a win over No. 25 Lenoir-Rhyne. However, they also represent Lees-McRae's first win after the Bobcats had lost eight straight games to start the season.
"Anyone has to be ready for anybody, we learned that against Concord," Kazee-Hollifield said. "They are extremely scrappy. They are going to play us very hard. We've got to be ready for that, and be ready for what these tough nonconference games do for preparing us for SAC play."
The Cavs offense has been high quality to start the season. UVA-Wise has scored at least five runs in three of its games. The Cavs hit .336 as a team and have already laced 10 doubles.
Samantha Ely, Alexa Hernandez and Shannon Bennett have the top bats on the young season. Ely is hitting .500 with seven hits in 14 at bats. Hernandez and Bennett both carry .429 averages. Hernandez has hit four doubles in six hits while Bennett has been better at producing runs with seven RBI.
The downside to the Cavs has been the pitching staff. UVA-Wise has a 3.42 team ERA. Opponents are hitting .355 off the Cavs' pitching.
Carson-Newman is looking for better situational hitting after leaving 19 runners on base Saturday in a sweep at King. The Eagles are hitting .267 this season with runners in scoring position and .280 with runners on base in general. Both those totals are down form the Eagles' overall .308 average.
"We talked about situational hitting a bunch," Kazee-Hollifield said. "We've done a good job getting our leadoff on. We have to more frequently produce runs out of that. It starts with going after good pitches, then we can't swing careful. That's what it looks like we've been doing."
Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) has roared out of the gates with an eight-game hitting streak. The eight-game streak is the longest for a freshman to start a career in the last five years. KaraLynne Levi (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has started out the year by driving in the go-ahead run in four of the Eagles' six wins. Fiessinger sits at a .474 average while Levi is at .440. They rank third and eighth in the SAC in runs batted in with 11 and 8, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Eagles pitching staff has worked effectively to start this season. Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) have two of the top five ERAs in the South Atlantic Conference. Rinus is fourth with a 0.78 ERA. Webster is fifth at 1.08. Webster leads the league in strikeouts with 33.
Webster had a school record 16 strikeouts the last time the Eagles and Cavaliers got together. That broke Heather Randolph's 24-year-old record. She sat down 11 batters swinging and five looking.
First pitch between the Eagles and Cavs is set for noon Tuesday. Coverage of the game will be available on the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live.
