VIDEO: Kennady Warder Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the second in a three-part series breaking down Carson-Newman softball's positions for the 2024 season. This feature works through the pitchers and catchers with assistance from Kennady Warder.
Warder, combined with 2023 NFCA Freshman of the Year Macauley Bailey give the Eagles two extremely viable options behind the plate. Both players also have some utility to them. Warder is slated to split time in left, while Bailey can play first and DP.
"You have to be an athlete," Warder said. "At the end of the day, if Coach Graves tells me I'm going to play left field, I'm going to do it. I want to do whatever I can to help this team win games."
Bailey was consistently been in the top five nationally throughout the season in RBI. She finished with 67, which is sixth in the nation both overall and but first in terms of games played. She was eight RBI away from matching Carson-Newman's Brittany Hefner and her single-season SAC and school record of 75. She drove in a run in 21 of her last 29 games and had 17 games this year where she drove in multiple runs.
Her 67 RBI are good for the fourth-most in a single-season in school history, and two away from third place and Hall of Famer Whitney Hickam (2008). Bailey has set a litany of freshman records. She had the most RBI of any freshman in school history, as well as the most home runs (15), longest hitting streak (18) and the highest slugging percentage (.818). Her home runs are good for the second-highest single-season total in school history overall, while the hitting streak is tied for fourth and the slugging percentage sits in seventh. From March 1 through April 11, Bailey hit successfully in 18 straight games. In that span she drove in a run in all but two games, collecting 32 RBI overall in that stretch.
Meanwhile, Warder wrapped up the year hitting .331 with 48 knocks. She bashed out eight doubles, two triples and six home runs en route to slugging .538. She drove in 30 runs, fourth most on the team. Included in that are a pair of four-RBI games. She drove in four against USC Beaufort (Feb. 18) and Newberry (March 18). Warder's bat was charged late, half of her home runs came after the calendar flipped to April. She finished the year for 11 multi-hit efforts, including a quartet of three-hit days.
"We have to keep the same mindset and lifting one another up," Warder said. "The hardest part is overcoming oneself. What will really help us is making sure that we are in one another's corner."
The Eagles also add in transfer catcher Bailee Worley, who spent last season at Pfeiffer.
The Eagles' have pitching out the wazoo. For the first time in more than a decade, the Eagles enter the season with nine arms in the bullpen.
"It'll help us come tournament time," Warder said. "We should be able to be better able to keep teams off balance. We can switch and mix up. If a team struggles with changeups, we have someone who is elite throwing changeups and can exploit that weakness."
The top returners are Syerra Rogers and NicKollette Ferguson. Rogers ranks third in school history for lowest batting average against, while no pitcher in Carson-Newman softball history has finished more games than Ferguson and her 28 career game completions in relief.
"Syerra and Nico have both really made adjustments," Warder said. "You can see the influence in our new pitching coach Holly Tucker-Vance. They have been coachable and you can see them getting better."
Rogers earned Varsity Gems SAC Pitcher of the Week laurels after dishing out a no-hitter in the Eagles' weekend action at the Charger Chillout. It was against Shorter where Rogers was truly sublime. In Carson-Newman's 13-0, five-inning, run-rule win over the Hawks, Rogers delivered the program's first no-hitter since Allison Rager did so to Anderson in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2019.
The sophomore pitcher recorded nine strikeouts in five innings of work. Rogers recorded the first five outs of game two via strikeouts before the Hawks actually put a ball into play. Only one ball was hit beyond the infield.
Rogers was also Carson-Newman's last SAC Pitcher of the Week honoree, garnering the award on March 22, 2022. Against Mars Hill (Feb. 22), Rogers took over for a 5-0 complete-game, one-hit shutout in the night cap. The 15 strikeouts are the second most for a single-game in school history, tied with Alli Webster's 15-strikeout performance in 2016 at Tusculum. For the season, Rogers was 9-7 with a 4.36 ERA. She appeared in 28 games with 21 starts in the circle.
Ferguson set Carson-Newman's single-season record and career record for games finished. She appeared in relief 19 times this season. Ferguson was 6-3 with a 3.82 ERA and a save across 44.0 innings of work. Her longest outing came against top-10 UIndy, when she dealt 5.1 innings of eight-hit, six-run ball – only three of which were earned. She struck out a season-high four against the Greyhounds.
Joining the duo are some star-studded transfers. Potentially the crown jewel in Michael Graves recruiting class is former Lincoln Memorial pitcher Emma Frost.
"She definitely builds up our artillery," Warder said. "We are ready for war with her in the circle."
Frost utilizes her CoVID year to conclude her collegiate softball career with Carson-Newman. Frost was a two-time all-region selection, two-time all-conference selection and the 2022 SAC Softball Championship MVP for archrival Lincoln Memorial. She has one year of eligibility remaining.
In her four-year career, Frost has amassed 69 wins against 26 losses in 110 appearances and 86 starts. She has made it a complete game 00 times with 16 career shutouts, six career saves and a 2.63 ERA. She has 574 career strikeouts in 574.1 career innings pitched against just 514 career hits allowed. She has walked just 123 batters lifetime.
Frost will enter this season second among active Division II players in career victories, and seventh in career strikeouts. In 2021, she was the SAC's Pitcher of the Year.
Joining Frost as transfers are NC State's Brookly Lucero and Hawaii-Hilo's Lexi Lacy.
Lucero pitched heavily as a freshman. She had 32.2 innings pitched in 14 appearances, including five starts and a 2-1 record. Earned a win in her first collegiate appearance against Gardner-Webb (2/27) where she pitched 5.0 innings and did not allow a run on three hits. Earned first ACC start against Georgia Tech (3/6) where she pitched 1.1 innings. Pitched effectively in 3.0 innings against #6 Florida State (5/1) where she did not allow a run on two hits. Threw a complete game against Duke (5/8) where she struck out three.
Lacy was a CSC Academic All-District selection and PacWest Pitcher of the Week for the Vulcans. She started 16 of 21 games played in, starting 14 in the pitching circle (18 total appearances) to lead the Vulcans with 96.2 innings pitched. Finished with a 5-8 record, 2.10 ERA, 37 strikeouts and three shutouts ... Got first collegiate win with a 5-0 complete-game shutout vs HPU (Feb 26). Pitched an 8-0 complete-game shutout vs Holy Names (March 8). Pitched a 3-0 complete-game shutout vs Holy Names (March 9). Notched a season-high seven strikeouts in a 2-1 extra-inning win over Dominican (March 13).
C-N also has depth among its returners between Hailey Leslie and Riley Sikes. Sikes was a pinpoint pitcher with excellent control. Sikes ranked in the top 10 nationally in fewest walks on the year. She only allowed seven free passes in 59.2 innings en route to a 6-1 record and a 3.52 ERA.
Leslie made six appearances in the cirlce with one start in her freshman season. The hurler was 1-1 with a 6.18 ERA.
C-N brought in one freshman pitcher in Texas-native Kayleigh Bowers. Bowers played softball and golf competitively at Willow Canyong High School. As a pitcher, she tallied a career ERA of 0.77, in 159 innings pitched. She was 25-3 in the circle. In the 2022-2023 season, she had a perfect 11-0 win-loss record. Bowers received numerous athletic honors throughout her high school career, such as being named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams, earning the Region Defensive Player of the Year award, and receiving All-State Team Honorable Mention.
Carson-Newman softball's position previews wrap up Wednesday with the infield.
