Haggerty, Johnson named Bojangles Athletes of the Week

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum lacrosse goalkeeper Kevin Haggerty and softball shortstop Taylor Johnson have been named the Bojangles Athletes of the Week.  Haggerty earns his second Athlete of the Week accolade, while Johnson garners her inaugural Bojangles honor.

Haggerty, a senior from Suffern, New York, recorded 28 total saves and posted a 6.00 goals against average in his two games last week, both in the SAC Tournament.  He allowed just four goals in an 11-4 SAC Quarterfinal win over Lincoln Memorial last Tuesday, matching a season-high with his 16 saves against the Railsplitters. In TC's 8-7 loss to 11th-ranked Wingate in the SAC Semifinal on Thursday, he was brilliant in the cage once again where he finished with a dozen saves marking his sixth straight outing with 10 or more stops.  For his efforts he was also named to the 2017 SAC All-Tournament Team.

Haggerty started all 15 games in goal for the Pioneers this year and ranked third in the league in both goals against average (8.35) and save percentage (.584), setting career bests in each category. The 2017 All-SAC second team selection had 10 or more saves in 10 games for the Pioneers, and registered at least nine saves in all eight conference games en route to ending the season with 163 stops. Haggerty had a season-high 16 saves against Lenoir-Rhyne, and finished the year by averaging 13 saves per game in the Pioneers' final six contests.

Haggerty is the program's career leader in every goalkeeping category, including games (43), minutes (2,529), goals against average (9.92), saves (468), save percentage (.543) and wins (21).

Johnson went 9-for-18 with two home runs and eight runs batted in as the Pioneers finished the regular season with a doubleheader split against Milligan, followed by a win in three games at the South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament. Johnson, a native of Spring Hill, Tennessee, hit safely in all five games for the Pioneers, going 5-for-6 with a double, a home run, three runs batted in and three runs scored in the Milligan doubleheader.

In the SAC Tournament, Johnson went 1-for-5 in an extra-inning loss to Lenoir-Rhyne in the tournament opener on Thursday, then connected for a sixth-inning grand slam to cap an eight-run rally in a 9-4 win over Wingate in an elimination game on Friday. Johnson closed out the week by going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in a loss to Coker. Johnson handled all 14 of her chances without an error during the week, and did not strike out in 19 plate appearances.

Johnson finished her freshman season leading the Pioneers in batting average (.399) and hits (67) while ranking second in doubles (nine), home runs (eight) and runs batted in (45) and third in runs scored (26). She led the team with 20 multi-hit games and had a team season-best 15-game hitting streak from March 4-29.

The Tusculum Athlete of the Week Award is sponsored by Bojangles, located at 3240 Andrew Johnson Highway in Greeneville.  The Bojangles Athlete of the Week Award honors one male and one female athlete each week from an in-season sport.

2016-2017 Bojangles Athletes of the Week