April 16, 2008

There was a moment earlier this season when Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield realized she was working with a special team.

It had nothing to do with wins and losses - though the Lady Eagles were 26-4 at the time. For Hollifield, it came from knowing the type of players she had on the roster.

"We had finished a game and we had just had our prayer and time of devotion," Kazee-Hollifield remembered. "I looked at the kids and I knew that even if we were 4-26, we would still be O.K."

"That's just the type of players we have on this team."

Carson-Newman has only lost two games since then, improving to an overall mark of 44-6, a school record for wins in a season, eclipsing the 42-win total of the 1991 team.

The Lady Eagles went 12-2 in the South Atlantic Conference and finished in a first-place tie with Lenoir-Rhyne to earn their 13th regular season title.

Carson-Newman was awarded the top seed in this week's 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament under tie-breaker rules. The Lady Eagles will face No. 8 seed Tusculum today at 4:15 p.m. in Newberry, South Carolina.

Carson-Newman's last conference championship came in 2005, and Kazee-Hollifield believes there are strong similarities between this years team and that one.

"I think you have to go back and look at the leadership," she said. "We had some strong upperclassmen at that time (2005)."

"This year, the three seniors on the team have really kind of been the glue and kept the young kids focused."

Carson-Newman has achieved its success this year using a mix of veterans and newcomers. On most days, as many as a half-dozen freshmen and sophomores can be found in the starting lineup.

While that could spell dysfunction for most teams, senior second baseman Whitney Hickam describes this season as the most enjoyable she has had in her four years at Mossy Creek.

"Mandy (Stevens), Zoe (Heim) and myself, we all feel like God has blessed us with a great group of girls to play ball with our last year," said Hickam, a third-team All-American in 2007.

"From day one, I have always felt like this team has had the potential to be very successful. I can not say enough good things about the underclassmen on this team."

Hickam herself was a key underclassmen on that '05 team, and knows what its like to be in that position.

"That 2005 team had some young players in key positions," including Mandy and myself," she explained. "So we can relate with some of their feelings of inexperience."

"But in my four years, Ive never been more proud of my teammates and our desire to work hard and win, from the freshmen all the way up to the seniors."

Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne split their regular season doubleheader back on March 25. L-R helped make the Lady Eagles stay in last year's conference tournament a short one with a 7-0 thumping in the second round.

As Kazee-Hollifield likes to point out, though, this year's Carson-Newman squad isnt approaching the postseason with the same mentality.

"This team has a totally different confidence level than that of last years team," she said. "Last year, we always played not to lose. These girls, they dont do that."

"Their mentality is where it should be."

That maybe wasnt the case earlier this year. Despite a sterling won-loss record, there came a point late in the season when the Lady Eagles received a reality check.

With Heim in the pitching circle, Carson-Newman was dealt an unexpected loss to Lincoln Memorial in the first game of a road doubleheader.

"We realized then that if we dont put forth the effort then we could get beat, because nothing is going to be handed to us," said Hickam.

The message came through load and clear, as the Lady Eagles have ran off 15 straight wins since.

The streak has been dominating, with Carson-Newman out-scoring its opponents by a 102-13 margin. Both Heim and sophomore Stephanie Templeton have thrown no-hitters during the stretch.

"Our pitching has been phenomenal, and I dont use that word a lot," said Kazee-Hollifield.

Heim currently has a SAC-best 1.11 earned run average on the season and a 26-5 overall record.

Templeton, a preseason All-SAC first team selection, has been equally impressive, going 18-1 with a 1.25 ERA.

The C-N offense hasnt been too bad either. Led by Stevens, Hickam and sophomore Jessie Howard, seven Lady Eagles are currently batting over .300 on the year.

"We were at Newberry the other day and Hickam gets up and blasts a home run," Kazee-Hollifield remembered. "The very next pitch, Mandy gets up there and does the exact same thing."

I dont mean this boastful, but when those two kids are on, its hard to beat Carson-Newman.

The strong final regular season push didnt come without some sort of loss for the Lady Eagles, however Former Rutledge standout Elisha Collins, who had caught fire at the plate during the past month, suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against Pfieffer.

"Its tough anytime you lose a starter," Kazee-Hollifield pointed out. "Especially because we knew with Elisha, any one swing could be smacked over the fence."

"But one of our freshmen, (Emily) Hutchins, has come in a done a fine job."

With a No. 4 regional and No. 18 national ranking entering the postseason, Carson-Newman is almost assured of its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament in May.

Both the Lady Eagles and Lenoir-Rhyne advanced to the national tourney last year, but neither found much success. Carson-Newman won one loser's bracket game in the regional, while the Lady Bears were two-and-done.

"Mandy and I have been to the tournament the past three years and know the level the team has to play at in order to be successful," said Hickam. "There should be no surprises this time around."

(Story courtesy of Darren Reese/Standard Banner Sports)