January 25, 2017

Webster, Toppel earn preseason All-SAC honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman pitcher Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) and shortstop Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) have been lauded with preseason all-conference honors from the South Atlantic Conference, the league office announced Wednesday morning.

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman pitcher Allison Webster (Charlestown, Ind.) and shortstop Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) have been lauded with preseason all-conference honors from the South Atlantic Conference, the league office announced Wednesday morning.

Webster earns first team honors as a pitcher while Toppel takes home second team honors as a shortstop.

Webster had one of the most prolific seasons by a Carson-Newman pitcher ever. With 254 strikeouts, she ranks third all-time in Carson-Newman history for punchouts in a single season. She went 20-13 with a 2.19 ERA.

"This makes me want to work that much harder," Webster said. "We'll have a lot of great competition this year. I'd rather it be a postseason accolade. But I'm thankful to be listed here."

She ranked third in the league in wins, sixth in saves (2), second in shutouts (seven), and third in strikeouts. Her ERA was sixth in the league.

Along the way, Webster set the Carson-Newman single-game record for strikeouts and was named as TSWA and SAC Pitcher of the Week for her efforts. She fanned 16, breaking Heather Randolph's 24-year-old school record at UVA Wise.

She came within a K of her own record later in the year in a 10-inning game against Tusculum when she struck out 15. She has three of the four highest single game strikeout records in Carson-Newman history.

She also K'd 13 earlier in the season against King.

Webster had six double-digit strikeout games on the season. She struck out eight in 14 of her appearances. She hurled a no-hitter against Anderson (4/6), a game in which she walked the first two batters she faced before retiring the rest in order.

At the plate, Webster hit .164. She had nine hits with a double and a dinger. The home run was a three-run blast in the seventh inning of a game against Brevard on the road that gave the Eagles the lead and the win.

Last year, Toppel was an honorable mention All-SAC selection, SAC and TSWA player of the Week.

Toppel started all but two games at short last year (she and NCAA Woman of the Year finalist Elayna Siebert switched positions for those two games) and hit .345 for the year. Toppel produced a 16-game hitting streak between February and March for the Eagles, the fourth longest in school history.

"I'm proud to achieve this without playing a game," Toppel said. "It puts healthy pressure on you. From here on out it's all about what happens on the field. I'll use it as a motivator to help me perform to the level that I'm expected."

The sophomore finished in the top 15 in the conference in eight offensive statistical categories. Toppel tallied up 15 multi-hit performances, second on the team to Siebert, and five multi-RBI days. She had a pair of three-hit performances on the season at Clark Atlanta and Tusculum, while she produced a trio of runs batted in against Belmont Abbey, Bluefield State and USC Aiken.

She peaked in early March when she won TSWA player of the week. Toppel batted .526 (10-for-19) with one double, two home runs, seven RBIs and eight runs scored in six games for the Eagles.

The Roanoke, Va., native posted two hits in both games of a doubleheader versus Bluefield State College, scoring twice in the opener and hitting a three-run inside-the-park homer in the second contest. The sophomore infielder added another three-run homer in the second game of a twinbill against USC Aiken and went 3-for-3 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored in the first of two contests versus Clark Atlanta. Toppel singled, walked and scored twice in the second game as well.

The Eagles open up the season Feb. 2 against Lees-McRae. First pitch against the Bobcats is set for 1 p.m. Coverage of the game will be available on the Eagle Sports Network with a free high definition video stream at cneagles.com/live.

2017 South Atlantic Conference Softball

Preseason All-Conference

1st Team

OF – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne

OF – Christina Walker, Lenoir-Rhyne

OF – Kristen Stinnard, Catawba

1B – Sydney Landreth, Lenoir-Rhyne

2B - Madison Poe, Lenoir-Rhyne

SS – Madison Carter, Lenoir-Rhyne

3B – Misty Doran, Wingate

DP – Taylor Lail, Mars Hill

UTL – Katie McLaurin, Wingate