HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman (42-11) starter Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) unfurled a gem and Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) came through the ultimate clutch hit to power the Eagles to championship Sunday at the SAC Softball Tournament.
Carson-Newman walked it off versus Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-0, in the bottom of the seventh innings. Toppel smashed a bases-loaded single up the middle of the field to score Kennedy Richardson (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and give C-N the win.
The late-game hitting dramatics belies Rinus' effort in the circle. The South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts.
Carson-Newman advances to Championship Sunday to face the winner of the final game Saturday between the Bears and Coker. First pitch for the title game is at 1 p.m.
Carson-Newman makes its first South Atlantic Conference championship game since 2010. The Eagles are aiming for their first SAC tournament title since 2009. That year, the Eagles ran through Mars Hill, Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate en route to the title in four straight games.
If the Eagles lose the 1 p.m. game Sunday, Carson-Newman and its opposition will play a decisive game to decide the tournament title at 3:30 p.m.
The game was the true definition of a pitcher's duel. Rinus and L-R pitcher Sydney Miller faced the minimum a combined six times in the contest.
Carson-Newman had decent chances in the second, fifth and sixth, but couldn't bring runs across in those frames.
The second inning saw KaraLynne Levi (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) get hit with one out. A two-out single from Cheyenne Boles (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Eagles a pair of base runners, but a line out from Ashlyn Cooper (Friendsville, Tenn.) ended the threat.
The Eagles led off the fifth with another base hit from Boles, and sacrificed the flex player Richardson over to second. However, a pop up and ground out ended that inning. The sixth saw Toppel lead off with a single through the left side, then advance to third on a pair of groundouts. Another pop up left an Eagle stranded in scoring position.
Yet, the Eagles got their timely knock in the seventh and were aided by an L-R error.
Boles tallied her third hit of the day, singling up the middle. A walk for Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) gave C-N a pair of base runners. Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) then grounded a ball to third. L-R attempted to make the force at third to get the lead runner, however, the third baseman whiffed on the throw from the pitcher.
That set the stage for Toppel's late-game theatrics.
Toppel was 2-for-4 with the RBI. Boles went 3-for-3.
Rinus only allowed one base runner to second on the day. She improves to 23-5 on the year.
Both Toppel and Richardson made spectacular defensive plays at short and center. Richardson saved a two-run home run from Sarah Kenley.
Miller was the hard-luck loser for L-R. She dropped to 14-6 on the year. Miller allowed six runs, with a walk and a punchout.