JEFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (35-16) cranks open the 2022 Southeast Regionals Thursday with an unfamiliar foe.
The Eagles will start play in the double elimination tournament against No. 18 North Georgia at 4:30 p.m. in Hickory, N.C. at Bears Field.
C-N is 0-4 all-time against the Nighthawks. The Eagles last matched wits with the Peach Belt Champions in 2012, losing 6-1 at the Mid-South Classic in Spartanburg, S.C.
Tournament history
Carson-Newman is making its 20th postseason appearance and its 16th berth in an NCAA tournament. Carson-Newman has won a game in eight of its last nine trips to regionals. The Eagles picked up wins over Augusta 6-3 in 2015, Georgia College 2-1 in 2018 (the last time the Eagles played in a regional in Hickory) and run-ruled Anderson 13-0 in 2019. Carson-Newman was two-and-out of the regional in 2017.
The Eagles are looking for their second ever appearance Super Regional appearance and the first since 2009. Carson-Newman opened that 2009 tournament with a 6-5 win over USC Aiken before defeating the host Lenoir-Rhyne Bears twice, 6-4 and 2-1 before heading to top-ranked North Georgia, where the Eagles fell 6-3 and 1-0 to the Nighthawks.
The last postseason appearance against North Georgia
A lineup card was the difference in game two of the NCAA Division II Softball Southeast Super Regional.
Top-ranked North Georgia was credited with a 1-0 win over visiting Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon in Dahlonega, Georgia, but not until after C-N had tied the game at 1-1 and loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, only to see the run stripped from the board.
Junior Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.) drew a leadoff walk, and was replaced by pinch runner Ashlee Dillard (Roanoke, Va.) at first base. Junior Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) followed by smashing a double off the centerfield fence to move the tying and winning runs into scoring position.
After an infield pop-up from Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) and an intentional walk was issued to Amber Palmer (Kennesaw, Ga.), sophomore Amber Hewitt (Ringgold, Ga.) appeared to tie the game with a bases-loaded walk.
The ensuing protest from North Georgia coach Mike Davenport, and the 70-minute umpire deliberation that followed will forever live in C-N softball infamy.
The umpire involved admittedly incorrectly recorded and then misreported to the North Georgia dugout, the numbers, 8-for-25, in the Dillard-for-Templeton substitution as Dillard-for-Kee, who was standing in the on-deck circle at the time.
After the hour-long deliberation in the outfield that included the onsite NCAA representative, all three umpires and phone calls to the NCAA Softball Committee, it was finally ruled that Dillard became an illegal runner when her substitution was improperly recorded by the umpire, despite being correctly recorded in both the home and "official" book in the press box.
The last pitch to Hewitt was nullified, Dillard was ruled out and the run was removed from the scoreboard, leaving Hewitt at the plate with a 3-1 count. She drew a walk to load the bases, but Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) grounded out to second to end the game, as North Georgia escaped with a 1-0 win.
Eagles in the national rankings
Carson-Newman ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight offensive categories. Carson-Newman leads the country with 2.10 doubles per game. The Eagles are fourth in hits (530) and fifth in doubles (107). C-N has hit the sxth most triples (25). The Orange and Blue rank eighth in batting average (.359), runs per game (7.37) and runs scored (376). C-N has hit the ninth most triples per game (0.49).
So this has been one of the more impressive offensive seasons in Carson-Newman softball history. The following are the record book moves to watch out for.
Macey Hughes
Macey Hughes is eighth in the country with 64 RBI this season. Hughes has five games this year with at least four RBI and three with five or more. Hughes is 11 RBI away from Brittany Hefner's (2013) school and SAC record 75 RBI for a single season. Hughes has the fourth most RBI in a single season in school history, five more and she'll draw level with Hall of Famer Whitney Hickam Cruze. Hughes has hit 14 home runs this season, she has the 17th double-digit home run season in school history and is tied for third in school history for a single season with with Elayna Siebert (2015). Her 15th would put her even with Staci Fish (2001) for second. Brittany Hefner (2013) holds the single-season record with 19. With 16 doubles, Hughes next two-base knock will move her into the top 10 in program history for a single season.
Emily Harris
Emily Harris, NCAA Division II's active hits leader, sits on 332 knocks coming into the tournament. She's is 11th in NCAA Division II history for career hits. Six more hits will move her into the top 10 all time in Division II history. Emily Harris is one of the most prodigious hitters in the country. Harris leads the SAC and is fourth nationally with 83 knocks. Harris has the second highest batting average in the country. Every Carson-Newman softball player who has tallied 69 or more hits in a season has been named an All-American. Harris is one of five players in program history to have produced 80 or more hits in a year (Carol Zachary Mitchell, Kelli Hensley, Jessie Howard and Sammi Hatcher Chafin). She is four hits away from equaling Jessie Howard and Sammi Hatcher for third-most all-time. Carol Zachary (1990) and Kelli Hensley (2014) both share the SAC and school record with 92. Additionally, Harris as smoked 18 doubles, two away from the single-season school record shared by Whitney Hickam (2008) and Mandy Stevens (2007). In cool, but less spectacular news, Harris needs a SAC fly to tie Libby Seal (2002) and KaraLynne Levi (2017) for the most sacrifice flies in a single season in school history (five). Harris needs four more stolen bases to become the fourth (or possible fifth) player in school history with 40 swipes in a season. (Leah Sohm has two more SB than Harris and is two away from 40).
Leah Sohm
With 38 stolen bases, Leah Sohm needs two more to match Libby Conley for the fourth most in a single season in school history. She also stands poised to become the fourth (or fifth, see above about Harris) to steal 40 bases in a year. She needs 12 more stolen bases to become the third member of C-N's triple-digit stolen base club for a career. Sohm sits on 59 runs scored this season, five away from Jessie Howard for the third-most in a single season. Sammi Hatcher holds the single-season record with 68 (1992). She needs seven more runs to catch Sammi Hatcher for third on the career chart (175). Sohm needs four more hits to join Emily Harris as the second member of the 80-hit club this season and the sixth in program history. C-N has averaged a little under eight years per entry into the 80-hit club. The Eagles are in position to have two this season.
Team Records
Carson-Newman has set single-season program records for runs scored (376), hits (530), doubles (107), runs batted in (332), total bases (798), sacrifice flies (15) and stolen bases (126). With the exception of sacrifice flies and stolen bases, C-N is clear of second place by double digits. For those two categories, the Eagles have the record by one. Furthermore, the Eagles' .359 team batting average is second all-time, while it's .541 team slugging percentage is tops (naturally, those numbers are a bit more fluid). Carson-Newman needs 24 more runs to become the third team in league history to score 400 runs in a single season. Wingate (2006) holds the SAC record for hits in a season with 583. The Eagles are five doubles away from Lincoln Memorial's (2012), single-season double mark of 112
First pitch between the Eagles and Nighthawks is set for 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Follow @cn_eagles on Twitter for live coverage of the contest.
