Kazee-Hollifield wins SAC coach of the year, six Eagles make all-conference
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield has been named the South Atlantic Conference’s coach of the year for an 11th time, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
VIDEO: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Interview
VIDEO: Sarah Howard Interview
VIDEO: Bre Lockett Interview
VIDEO: Elayna Siebert Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield has been named the South Atlantic Conference's coach of the year for an 11th time, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
In addition, the Eagles netted six all-conference accolades. Outfielder Bre Lockett (Fontana, Calif.), pitcher Sarah Howard (Georgetown, Ky.) and utility infielder Elayna Siebert (Knoxville, Tenn.) all made the first team. Pitcher Lindsay Dean (Coeburn, Va.) and third baseman Brooke Ramsey (San Mateo, Calif.) made the second team, while outfielder Haley Taylor (Strawberry Plain, Tenn.) garnered honorable mention status.
Kazee-Hollifield last won coach of the year honors in 2005. That was also the last time that Carson-Newman won the league title outright. That year, she also guided Carson-Newman to a SAC title and an NCAA tournament berth.
Kazee-Hollifield saw C-N bring home statistical championships in the SAC this year for batting average (.345), slugging percentage (.534), on-base percentage (.422), runs per game (6.93), triples per game (0.40) and doubles per game (1.82).
Lockett garners first team all-SAC honors after leading the league in batting average (.463), on-base percentage (.544) and slugging (.853).
A two-time SAC Player of the Week, National Women Play Ball DII Athlete of the Week and TSWA Player of the Week, she is top 30 in the nation with her batting average and is tied for fourth in the league with 10 home runs and fourth in the league with 44 RBI. –
Lockett has three, four-hit games this season (Bluefield State, Fort Valley State and Tusculum), and she set Carson-Newman's single game records against the Blues for home runs (three), RBI (nine) and total bases (13).
She scored a school record five runs against Fort Valley State. Lockett put together a 12-game hitting streak where, among which included nine straight mutli-hit games. She has a team-best 18 multi-hit games this season and a team-best 11 mutli-RBI games.
Howard gets first team honors after being named a South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Week, Women Play Ball Division II Athlete of the Week and TSWA Pitcher of the Week. She finished second in the league in ERA (1.74) and first in conference games only at 1.41.
Howard had the third most wins in conference play with eight.
Among her season highlights include retiring 24 consecutive batters without allowing a base runner between two games against Erskine and LMU. With a .214 batting average against, she has the second lowest tally in SAC play.
Siebert came on late to finish as the runner up to Lockett for the league's batting title with a .436 average (also good for 86th in the nation). Siebert also earned first team all-conference and all-region honors as a freshman utility player.
In conference play only, Siebert is second in the league in HR (8), RBI (20) and total bases (50). She leads the league in conference play only with 19 runs scored.
Siebert put together the longest hitting streak of the season for an Eagle at 14 games. She has 11 mult-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
Siebert matched the school record for double in a game with a three-double game against Mars Hill.
Dean was also a SAC Pitcher of the Week honoree and is among the NFCA's Top 25 Freshmen of the Year.
Her 1.90 ERA is fourth in the league. She struck out a career high nine batters against Fort Valley State and has given up less than five hits in 10 of her starts this season.
Ramsey has hit the go-ahead/game-winning RBI for Carson-Newman 10 times this season. She finished fourth in the league in RBI with 45 and was fifth for the category in conference games only with 17.
She is currently in the midst of a season-long nine-game hitting streak. Ramsey has a team-best six three-RBI games and a team-best 11 multi-RBI games. She has 13 multi-hit games this season.
Taylor led the conference in triples and earned the league's statistical championship for the category with six. She also ranks sixth in the nation in that category.
A South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week selection, Taylor has hit successfully in every conference game but three.
She has not made an error in the outfield and has three outfield assists this year, including two in one game against Brevard
Taylor is second on the team with 17 mutli-hit games, including a team-best five three-hit games.
She has driven in multiple runs on 11 occasions and has a pair of four-RBI games. She also ranks sixth in the league with 11 stolen bases.
Carson-Newman's six all-SAC selections will be on display Thursday when the Eagles open up the SAC tournament in Hartsville, S.C. at Coker. Live stats will be available through cneagles.com while Coker will provide a video stream at cokercobras.com.
