Lady Eagles Set For Showdown With No. 1
May 14, 2009
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JEFFERSON CITY - It's the middle of May and the campus of Carson-Newman College is nearly deserted.
But while most students have eagerly made their journeys back to wherever home may be, the members of the C-N softball team remain.
And unlike the rest of their classmates, the Lady Eagles aren't quite ready to leave.
"I've got to hand it to my girls," said Carson-Newman head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield. "While most kids are thinking about going home for the summer, this group is out there still busting their butts, sweating and getting dirty in practice."
"In fact, they come up to me every day, saying, `Coach, we don't want to go home yet'."
The Lady Eagles remain in Jefferson City because their season isn't over. They travel to Dahlonega, Georgia this weekend to compete in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Carson-Newman will play a best-of-three series with North Georgia, the No. 1 team in the nation, for a berth in the College World Series. The first game between C-N and the Saints is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday. The second game will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with a game to follow if necessary.
Despite a storied softball history that includes 13 conference championships and nine NCAA Tournament appearances, this is the first time that Carson-Newman has ever advanced to the round of 16.
"It's an exciting time for Carson-Newman and these young ladies," Hollifield said. "After all we've had to overcome this year, I'm just happy to see them have this opportunity."
North Georgia (46-3) comes in riding a 23-game winning streak - the last defeat coming on March 17 to USC Aiken (4-0). The Saints captured the Peach Belt Conference Tournament title and last weekend's Dahlonega Region crown by allowing a total of just three runs in the seven games combined.
North Georgia's Sarah Phillips was named the Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year after posting a record of 35-1 with a 1.03 earned run average and 230 strikeouts. Phillips is currently riding a national-best 32-game winning streak.
"Their pitcher is very good," Hollifield said. "She gets it up there around 60 to 61 miles per hour, and we don't see a whole lot of that."
"I saw them play last year at regionals, and they are a very athletic team. They are solid, one through nine in the order."
Carson-Newman (32-15) has cruised through the postseason as well, winning seven straight games after being swept in a doubleheader with Wingate to end the regular season.
Those two losses kept the Lady Eagles from sharing the South Atlantic Conference regular season title, and knocked them all the way down to sixth in the final league standings.
Since then, they have been a team on a mission.
"We came into the conference tournament with something to prove," said All-Region First Team selection Jessie Howard. "We play with the mentality that we have nothing to lose. We are taking it one game at a time and trying to play the best we can."
The Lady Eagles were last in the conference standings after beginning the campaign with four straight losses, but the return of junior pitcher Stephanie Templeton from an early season injury helped get the season turned around just in time.
Templeton, who took a ball off the face during practice not once, but twice this year, returned to the circle on March 31 and Carson-Newman is 16-3 since. The ace is not only getting the job done pitching (12-2), but she is hitting a team-best .429 with 27 hits and 20 RBIs in only 63 plate appearances.
Howard believes Templeton's greatest impact comes from the other things she does in between the lines, however.
"I think Steph coming back impacts us, not only in the pitching circle, but as a team leader and a vocal leader," Howard explained. "She is somebody that gets us all together on the same page, and gives us that extra push to work hard for each other. We see her working hard, so it makes us want to work hard."
"One of our themes has been "Together", and now that she is back, we are together again. It's been huge."
Also fueling the Carson-Newman run has been the emergence of first baseman Sara Little as a dominant clean-up hitter.
The junior is batting .346 with 12 home runs and 53 runs batted in - both team bests. Little was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Hickory Regional last weekend after going 7-for-14 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
"Sara carries a lot of weight on her shoulders, as far as our offense goes," Hollifield said. "And this tournament, she really came through for us."
Carson-Newman last defeated a No. 1 ranked team in 1995, with a 1-0 decision over Florida Southern in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I remember they walked in the winning run," Hollifield said. "Doesn't matter how you win them, as long as you do."
The Lady Eagles would be more than happy with a couple of 1-0 victories this weekend.
(Courtesy Darren Reese, Standard-Banner)
