ROLLA, Mo. - Carson-Newman freshman pitcher Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and freshman second baseman Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) have picked up All-America honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, the organization announced Wednesday.
Rinus makes the third team as a utility/pitcher, while Fiessinger grabs honors as a second baseman.
The pair are the second and third freshmen in school history to earn All-America honors, joining catcher Bri Shoemake (2010).
They are the 11th and 12th All-Americans Ain C-N's NCAA history and 16th and 17th when factoring in the program's NAIA days. This marks the fifth time that two Eagles have been honored in the same season and the third time in the NCAA era. Elayna Siebert and Bre Lockett were the most recent pair to pull it off, doing so in 2015.
Rinus becomes the fourth Eagle pitcher to be recognized. She joins Heather Randolph (1995), Zoe Heim (2008) and Carol Zachary (1989-1991). Rinus is the first Eagle to ever earn All-America honors as a utility/pitcher.
Fiessinger is the second player in the history of the Carson-Newman softball program to earn All-America honors as a second baseman joining Whitney Hickam (2008). Siebert played second in 2015, but also split time in the outfield, behind the plate and at short; she earned her All-America status as a utility player.
Rinus adds the All-America accolade to all-region and region Pitcher of the Year plaudits in a prolific year where she has already stuffed her trophy case with placards for SAC Freshman of the Year, SAC Pitcher of the Year and SAC Tournament MVP. She is the first player in league history to win all three of those awards in the same season.
Rinus is the just the second player in the league's history to take both Freshman and Pitcher of the Year honors in the same season. She joins Catawba's Carly Tysinger (2013) as the only other player to receive that distinction.
She becomes the second Carson-Newman pitcher to earn the league's top honor for hurlers, joining Megan Elliot, who did it in 2005.
Rinus is the fifth Carson-Newman player recognized as the league's freshman of the year and the most recent since Elliot was lauded in 2003. She joins Elliot and SAC Hall of Famer Marci Mitchell as the only two C-N pitchers to receive the accolade.
The Murfreesboro, Tenn.-native led the conference in strikeouts (232), batting average against (.205), earned run average (1.56) and wins (26).
She also led the league in shutouts, overtaking first place with back-to-back scoreless outings to clinch C-N the SAC tournament title.
On three occasions this year, Rinus garnered AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference and Tennessee Sportswriters Association Pitcher of the Week accolades. She was lauded with recognition as the Fastpitch News National Pitcher of the Week on April 5th. She did not allow an earned run from March 22 – April 5th, a streak of 35 consecutive innings.
Rinus pitched a season-high 12 strikeouts against Erskine on Feb. 22. She has hit double digit strikeouts on seven occasions this season. Perhaps more impressive is her strikeout to walk ratio, which sits at 6.75:1. There have been 13 starts this year where Rinus has not issues a base on balls.
At the plate, Rinus has also proved to be an asset. She hit .356, the second highest average among regulars on the team. Her 12 doubles and three triples are both second on the team. She hit an inside-the-park home run against Brevard. She has collected 12 multi-hit games this year, the third most on the team. She has a staggering seven, three-hit efforts, which is tied for the second most in a single season for a Carson-Newman player in the last seven seasons.
Fiessinger hit .398 for the season, the sixth highest in the South Atlantic Conference. She hit a team-best 10 home runs, five triples and 72 base hits. She was 13 hits away from breaking into the top seven for a single season in conference history.
The Benton, Ky.-native started the year on an 18-game hitting streak, the fourth longest in school history.
Her top single-game effort came March 27 against Brevard. She tied the single-game school record with two triples against Tornados. The two triples were a part of a four-hit day for Fiessinger. Combined with a home run and a single, she had 11 total bases on the day, the second most in school history. She drove in seven RBI against Brevard, including six in one inning. The seven runs batted in runs batted in are the third most in school history.
She has scored 52 runs this season, 10 away from the eighth most in league history.
