VIDEO: Vickee Hollifield Interview
VIDEO: Abby Fiessinger Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (27-7, 8-0 South Atlantic Conference) muscled its way to its largest margin of victory first a SAC foe and extended the longest active win streak in the Southeast Region to 13 games with a doubleheader sweep of Brevard (2-14, 0-8 SAC) Monday afternoon at the Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
The Eagles took game one 9-1 before pounding Brevard 23-1 in the nightcap. Both games ended after five innings via the run-rule.
"We came out a little flat, had a few too many errors that we bobbled early," head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "If we're going to do that, I'm glad we did it today and had the run production to counteract that."
The 22-run win bests a 19-2 triumph over LMU from 2013 as the largest margin of victory in SAC play. The 23 runs scored are the most ever for a C-N conference game and the fifth most all-time. They are the most runs scored by one SAC team over another in league history, besting the 22 that LMU put up against Mars Hill in 2003.
Six of Carson-Newman's starters hit at least .500 on the day. Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) had the top outing among them thanks to a prodigious effort in game two.
The freshman tied a school record with two triples. She also hit a home run and a single to finish with seven RBI, tied for the fourth most in school history, and 11 total bases, tied for the second most in school history.
Fiessinger, Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.), Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Taylor Scott (Huntington, W.Va.) all homered for the Eagles.
"All those girls are capable of doing that," Kazee-Hollifield said. "That's big for us. We need some of those long balls especially with our games coming up."
Game one: Carson-Newman 9, Brevard 1 (five innings)
It took until the second inning, but the Eagles muscled out the big sticks for a major two out rally. Janelle Benzick (Virginia Beach, Va.) got it started with an RBI single to right. Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) followed with a two-run double to left center.
A batter later, Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) drove her third triple of the season to center field to bring in the fourth run of the inning.
Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) got plunked to give the Eagles runners on the corners.
Taylor Scott (Huntington, W.Va.) took advantage by jacking her fifth home run of the season into the pine trees in right. When the dust settled, a seven-run two-out rally gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Brevard countered in the top of the third by taking advantage of a pair of Eagle miscues. Maggie Weiss reached on an error at short to start the inning, then came in to score on a throwing error at second. That cut the Eagles' lead to 7-1.
The Eagles got that run back in the home half of the frame. Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) squeezed a ball inside the first base bag that curled into the corner. With sprinter's speed, the freshman touched them all for the Eagles' first inside the park home run since Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) smacked one against Bluefield State in 2016.
For a third straight game, Carson-Newman walked it off via the run-rule. KaraLynne Levi (Murufreesboro, Tenn.) led off the inning after getting hit, then Mikayla Williams (Newport, Tenn.) knocked a pinch-hit single to center.
Katie Pritchett (Ringgold, Ga.) delivered the game-ending base knock with a single to left center to set the final margin at 9-1.
Rinus got the win to improve to 14-3. She allowed one hit and the lone run that Brevard scored was unearned. She struck out eight on the day.
Ricki Kuhn took the loss for Brevard to fall to 2-12.
Game two: Carson-Newman 23, Brevard 1 (five innings)
Brevard became just the third team to score first against Carson-Newman by using some small-ball tactics in the first. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly allowed the leadoff batter Lauren Parker to score with Ashleigh Ivey collecting the run batted in on the SAC fly.
Carson-Newman countered quickly, Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va,) golfed her third home run of the year to left. The two-run shot gave C-N the lead. Three batters later, Rinus ripped a ball up the gut for a base hit and the third run of the inning, scoring Scott. The Eagles were up 3-1 at the end of the frame.
C-N then exploded for nine runs in the second. Fiessinger drove in six of the runs herself. She hit a three-run home run her first time up and then cleared the bases with a triple her second time to the plate in the inning.
Rinus and Erin Stanley (Coeburn, Va.) drove the other runs in in the inning in which the Eagles sent 13 to the plate. Stanley had an RBI fielder's choice. Rinus hit a two-run single to left.
The Eagles then pounded out an eight-spot in the third. A trio of two-run singles set the tone from Stanley, Webster and Toppel. The Eagles added runs on a Peyton Bacon (Greeneville, Tenn.) double and an RBI groundout from Levi.
C-N scored 20 runs for the first time since scoring a school record 31 on Fort Valley State in March of 2015.
The Eagles tacked on three more runs in the fourth. Heather Foreman (Knoxville, Tenn.) nailed an RBI single, while Fiessinger collected her seventh RBI of the day to extend the lead to 23-1.
Webster got the win in the circle for C-N to improve to 13-4. She pitched four innings, gave up five hits and an unearned run. She fanned five.
Foreman worked an inning of relief, striking out two.
Kuhn took the loss to fall to 2-13. She allowed 12 runs. Lauren Parker pitched 1.1 innings of relief work, allowing three hits and 11 runs with seven walks.
The Eagles are back in action Wednesday at Erskine. Follow @cnathletics on Twitter for updates of the doubleheader.
