The South Atlantic Conference Announces Softball Annual Awards
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Lenoir-Rhyne's Sarah Kenley was voted the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Softball Player of the Year, while Lacie Rinus from Carson-Newman was named the League's Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year. In addition, Carson-Newman mentor Vickee Kazee-Hollifield was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.
Kenley, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., finished the regular season ranked among the national leaders in several offensive categories. She pounded out 21 doubles on the year to rank tied for No. 3 in the country, while her 124 total bases was good for No. 8 in Division II. She totaled 74 hits on the 2017 season to rank No. 11 in the nation and drove in 52 runs for a ranking of No. 21 in the nation. Her .451 batting average is currently ranked No. 28 in the country as well. In situational hitting, Kenley posted six sacrifice fly balls to rank No. 5 in D-II. She also posted nine long balls during her senior season to finish the year tied for second in the League with a slugging percentage of .756.
Rinus, a pitcher from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is the just the second player in the League's history to take both Freshman and Pitcher of the Year honors in the same season. She led the Conference in strikeouts (196), batting average against (.205), earned run average (1.31) and wins (22). She ranked second in the League in shutouts with 22. Her strikeout total is the 10th best figure in the nation while her seven shutouts are seventh. On three occasions this year, Rinus garnered AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference and Tennessee Sportswriters Association Pitcher of the Week accolades. She was lauded with recognition as the Fastpitch News National Pitcher of the Week on April 5th. She did not allow an earned run from March 22 – April 5th, a streak of 35 consecutive innings. She has hit double digit strikeouts on seven occasions this season as her strikeout to walk ratio sits at 6.75:1. She also posted 13 starts with no walks.
At the plate, Rinus has also proved to be an asset for the Eagles. She hit .371 on the year to post the second-highest average among regulars on the team. Her 12 doubles and three triples are both second on the team as well. She hit an inside-the-park home run against Brevard and has collected 12 multi-hit games this year, the third most on the team.
Kazee-Hollifield earns her 12th South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honor after guiding her Eagles to their second SAC regular season championship in three years. Carson-Newman finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 37-11, including a SAC record of 16-4. Her pitching staff finished No. 19 in Division II with an ERA of 1.86. Offensively, her Eagles ranked No. 32 in the country with 6.02 runs per game, while the Eagles posted an on-base percentage of .413 to rank No. 15 in the country.
2017 South Atlantic Conference Softball All-Conference Agate
1st Team
OF – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Naomi Sapp, Wingate
OF – Allie Jones, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Sydney Landreth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B - Ty-Kella Goins, Lincoln Memorial
SS – Hailey Drawe, Newberry
3B – Casey Stanek, Mars Hill
DP – Haley Simonds, Newberry
UTL – Mindy North, Coker
C – Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
P – Devon Morrison, Newberry
2nd Team
OF – Christina Linton, Newberry
OF – Sammie West, Tusculum
OF – Elaina Frantellizzi, Queens
1B – Maria Williamson, Coker
2B – Natalie Willis, Newberry
SS – Dakotah Fraley, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Mackenzie Cates, Lenoir-Rhyne
DP – Taylor Wells, Wingate
UTL – Taylor Martin, Catawba
C – Cailah Niles, Anderson
P – Sydney Miller, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Augie Pena, Anderson
Honorable Mention
OF – Casey Simmons, Coker
OF – Kelsi Bachmann, Coker
OF – Cassidy Dahle, Mars Hill
1B – Emily Hester, Tusculum
2B – Abby Fiessinger, Carson-Newman
SS – Kristen Toppel, Carson-Newman
3B – Hannah Price, Coker
DP – Ashton Whitaker, Queens
UTL – Addison Harris, Mars Hill
C – KaraLynne Levi, Carson-Newman
P – Taylor Forehand, Coker
P – Allison Webster, Carson-Newman
Freshman of the Year
Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
Player of the Year
Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher of the Year
Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
Coach of the Year
Vickee Kazee-Hollifield, Carson-Newman
SAC Statistical Champions
Team Batting Average – Lenoir-Rhyne (.375)
Team Slugging Percentage – Lenoir-Rhyne (.557)
Team On-Base Percentage – Lenoir-Rhyne (.426)
Team Runs Scored Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (7.24)
Team Home Runs Per Game – Anderson (0.97)
Team Triples Per Game – Wingate (0.34)
Team Doubles Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (0.45)
Team RBIs Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (6.50)
Team Stolen Bases Per Game – Queens (1.82)
Team ERA – Carson-Newman (1.92)
Team Strikeouts Per Game – Carson-Newman (7.25)
Batting Average – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne (.466)
On-Base Percentage – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne (.534)
Slugging Percentage – Cailah Niles, Anderson (.787)
Home Runs Per Game – Cailah Niles, Anderson (0.29)
RBIs Per Game – Cailah Niles, Anderson (1.14)
Runs Scored Per Game – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne (1.16)
Triples Per Game – Cacey Simmons, Coker (0.13)
Doubles Per Game – Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne (0.41)
Stolen Bases Per Game –Sydney Ditto, Queens (0.59)
ERA – Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman (1.35)
Strikeouts Per Seven Innings – Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman (7.70)
Pitching Victories – Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman (21)