Pioneers picked seventh in SAC preseason poll, three earn All-Conference honors

Posted: Jan 18, 2018

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum softball team has been picked to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll, the league office announced Thursday.

The Pioneers placed three members on the SAC Preseason All-Conference second team: first baseman Emily Hester, shortstop Taylor Johnson and outfielder Sammie West. They helped the Pioneers finish 28-25 overall last season and 10-10 in conference play to finish tied for sixth place.

Hester, a junior from Kings Mountain, North Carolina, was named honorable mention All-SAC last season after she started all 53 games for the Pioneers and hit .373 while leading the team with 10 home runs and 49 runs batted in. Hester finished tied for sixth in the conference in home runs and 10th in runs batted in, and was second in the league with a team-high 32 walks. Hester also led the Pioneers in on-base percentage (.476) and slugging percentage (.621), ranking in the top 10 in the conference in both categories.

Hester had 16 multi-hit games and a team-high 15 multiple-RBI games, and reached base safely in 45 of her 53 games, including three streaks of 10 consecutive games or more. In conference games, Hester hit .382 with six home runs and 19 runs batted in, along with 15 walks in 20 games. Her 10 home runs were the most for Tusculum in the Division II era (since 1999) and one shy of the overall program single-season record of 11 set in 1991 by Carla Loyd. For her career, Hester is a .314 hitter with 11 home runs and 77 runs batted in, along with 46 walks and 30 runs scored in 105 games for the Pioneers.

Johnson, a sophomore from Spring Hill, Tennessee, started all 53 games at shortstop and hit .399 with eight home runs and 45 runs batted in. She led the Pioneers with 20 multi-hit games and ranked second with 12 multiple-RBI games, and reached base safely in 44 of the team's 53 games. Johnson finished the season ranked eighth in the SAC in batting average, and was third on the team in both slugging percentage (.595) and on-base percentage (.433).

Johnson hit .419 in the Pioneers' 20 conference games, with three home runs and 18 runs batted in. In the SAC Softball Championship tournament, she went 4-for-12 with a home run and five RBI in three games, including a grand slam in an elimination-game victory over Wingate. Johnson also had a team-long 15-game hitting streak from March 4 through March 29, and finished the season by hitting safely in her final seven games.

West, a sophomore from Maiden, North Carolina, was a second-team All-SAC selection after finishing last season with a .386 average, four home runs and 28 runs batted in. She led the Pioneers in runs scored (45) and doubles (18), both school single-season records in the Division II era (since 1999). West also had a team-best four triples and 13 stolen bases, ranked second in batting average, on-base percentage (.466), slugging percentage (.614), hits (64) and walks (25) and was third in runs batted in.

In conference games only, West ranked fourth in doubles, tied for sixth in triples, seventh in walks and 10th in on-base percentage. Her 48 total bases in league games were third-best among SAC players, as were her 30 hits, while her nine doubles and three triples ranked her second in league games in both categories. West was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team after finishing 5-for-10 with a home run, a stolen base and four runs scored in three games.

Defending SAC regular-season and tournament champion Carson-Newman (41-13, 16-4) received six of 11 votes from the conference's head coaches and took the top spot in the poll with 106 points. Lenoir-Rhyne (46-13, 16-4) picked up four first-place votes and was second with 102 points, while Coker (41-17, 13-7) received the other first-place vote and 87 points to claim third place. Newberry (33-16, 14-6) was fourth with 78 points, followed by Anderson (34-16, 12-8) in fifth with 76 points and Wingate (23-25, 10-10) in sixth with 71 points.

Tusculum was seventh with 52 points, trailed by Lincoln Memorial (23-22, 6-14) in eighth place with 48 points, Queens (21-29, 6-14) in ninth with 42 points, Mars Hill (12-30, 5-15) with 29 points in tenth place and Catawba (11-40, 2-18) in 11th place with 24 points.

The Pioneers are scheduled to open the 2018 season on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Red Edmonds Field against Lees-McRae. The Pioneers' first conference doubleheader is slated for Sunday, March 18 at home against Lenoir-Rhyne, with the regular season wrapping up on Saturday, April 21 at home against Queens. The eight-team, single-elimination SAC Championship tournament will be played April 27 and 28 at Anderson.