ROCK HILL, S.C – Carson-Newman landed four players on the South Atlantic Conference's all-league teams, including the program's sixth ever four-time honoree, the conference office announced Thursday morning.
KaraLynne Levi (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Macey Hughes (Corryton, Tenn.) all earned second team honors at catcher, pitcher and outfielder, respectively. Leah Sohm (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up an honorable mention accolade at shortstop. Rinus becomes the sixth player in program history to earn an all-league honor from the SAC four times.
Levi earns all-conference honors for a third time and the second as a member of the second team.
A 201-game starter behind the plate, Levi has hit .322 this year with a .460 OBP and a .586 slugging percentage. She is the only catcher in the league who has played error free behind the plate.
Levi has tallied four multi-hit and nine multi-RBI games this year. She was 3-for-4 with three runs scored against Tiffin (Feb. 21). She drove in three-RBI against both Limestone (Mar. 10) and UVA Wise (Mar. 16).
The senior has hit five home runs and eight doubles on the year. Levi's next jack will put her into the 20-home run club for a career at Carson-Newman. She looks to be the 12th member of that grouping.
Two home runs will tie her with Katie Pritchett and Staci Fish for the 10th most all-time (21).
Levi needs one more RBI to catch Lisa Rogers for the sixth most all-time in C-N history with 143. Levi enters the SAC tournament with 142 driven in all-time.
Rinus earns All-SAC honors for the fourth time in her career. She is a two-time first team honoree and now a two-time second team honoree.
Rinus joins Libby Conley, Megan Elliot, Marci Mitchell, Cynthia Newton and Brooke Randolph as the program's only four-time All-SAC honorees.
Rinus became Carson-Newman's fourth member of the 600 K club in C-N's game one win over Limestone on March 10. Rinus is fourth all-time in Ks at Carson-Newman with 634. She needs 20 more to catch Carson-Newman Hall of Famer Heather Randolph (662) for third all-time.
Rinus has split her time between the circle and the outfield this year. While pitching, Rinus has gone 7-9 with a 3.46 era in 19 appearances and 16 starts. She's gone a complete game 14 times while striking out 88 and walking 40. Opponents have hit .265 off Rinus this year.
She dealt double-digit strikeouts with 12 on March 4 against Coker.
At the plate, Rinus is hitting .382 with seven double and a triple. She has driven in 20. Rinus collected her fourth-career, four-hit day on March 6 at Queens. She also drove in a season-best three runs in both games of that doubleheader against the Royals, also doing so on Feb. 21 against Tiffin. Rinus has five-multi RBI efforts this year.
She rode a nine-game hitting streak from March 4 – March 16, the second longest of her career.
Hughes becomes the first C-N freshman to receive all-league laurels since Haley Caldwell during the 2018 season.
Hughes hit .387 this year with eight doubles, two triples and four home runs while driving in 26.
The freshman has peaked at the right time heading into conference tournament play. She has tallied hits in nine of her last 11 games, including a seven-game hitting streak from March 27 – April 12.
Hughes has a septet of multi-hit and multi-RBI efforts. She tallied a four-hit day at Wingate on March 27 to start her hit streak.
A frequent clutch hitter, Hughes tallied a walk-off RBI single against King in her second career game and a top of the seventh go-ahead home run against the Bulldogs as a part of that four-hit game.
She has driven in three runs twice, doing so against Catawba (April 12) and Tiffin (Feb. 21).
Sohm wraps up all-league laurels for the first time in her career.
The lefty slapper hit .396 for the year with her second and third career triples. Arguably the fastest player in the conference. Sohm was second in the league with 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts.
A multi-hit machine, Sohm had 11 such days on the year including a quartet of four-hit days.
She tied a school record against Limestone (March 10) when she scored five runs in game two against the Saints.
She has only made eight errors at short, tied for the second fewest in the league among short stops.
All four Eagles will be on display in the conference tournament Friday at 11 a.m. in Greeneville, Tenn. against Wingate.
