GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University softball team hits the road for the first time in April, heading to UVA Wise for a Sunday (Apr. 10) doubleheader against the Cavaliers. The next two series will be at Red Edmonds Field: nationally-ranked Carson-Newman on Tuesday (Apr. 12) and Queens on Friday (Apr. 15).

TU will celebrate its three fifth-year seniors (Anna Alloway, Kiley Longmire, and Mya Maddox) prior to first pitch against the Eagles.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
Tusculum (21-16, 8-8 SAC) went 1-3 last week, dropping a pair at Anderson and splitting its home series with Limestone.

Chloe Freischmidt batted .333 with four hits, two of which were doubles. She also tallied two runs, two RBI and one hit by pitch. Seven other Pioneers notched a pair of hits: Claire Smeltzer, Hayley Lazo, Emily Sappington, Anna Alloway, Hannah Hughes, Alyssa Suits, and Mya Maddox. Sappington drew three walks, ahead of two by Kallyn Newport. Alloway recorded a sacrifice fly and a bunt as well.

Emily Sappington pitched in all four games with two complete game decisions (1-1). She struck out 18 in 16.2 innings on a 2.52 earned-run average. Sappington walked four and allowed 18 hits on eight runs (six earned).

As a team, Tusculum is ranked across the top-50 nationally in hit by pitch (20th; 30), sacrifice flies (28th; 12), stolen bases (31st; 67), fielding percentage (33rd; 0.968), doubles (35th; 58), sacrifice bunts (46th; 24), double plays (48th; 11), and hits (50th; 289).

Individually, Sappington is tied for third across Division II with 17 complete games, 20th in strikeouts (135), 24th in starts (18), and 49th in appearances (22). Maddox is 10th nationally in stolen bases (28), 21st in hit by pitches (9), and 22nd in steals per game (0.76). Lazo ranks 14th after being hit by 10 pitches, an average of 0.29 per game (31st in DII). Freischmidt has 12 doubles on the season, good for 41st.

LOOKING AHEAD
UVA Wise (15-13, 7-9 SAC) will also have had eight days off when the Pioneers come to town. Jenna McDermott is averaging .388 at the plate with 33 hits (14 for extra bases), 30 runs, 15 RBI, 15 walks, and six steals. Sarah Barrett has a team-best six homers and 23 RBI as well. The Cavaliers have used a trio in the circle, led by McKenna Falwell. With an 8-5 record across 90.2 innings, she has a 6.06 ERA with 104 hits, 61 earned runs, 41 walks, 13 hit batters, and 83 strikeouts.

Carson-Newman (28-10, 8-6 SAC) was tabbed 25th in the latest NFCA poll, marking the fourth-straight week atop Division II. The Eagles will face Queens on Sunday before making the quick trip to Greeneville. A trio of Eagles have mashed at least 50 hits this season: Emily Harris (64), Leah Sohm (60), and Natalie Corbin (51). All three have also scored at least four runs: Sohm (49), Corbin (44), and Harris (44). Macey Hughes leads Carson-Newman with 27 extra base hits, 55 RBI, and 17 walks, while Sohm has also tallied 30 steals. In the circle, Sara King has pitched over half of the Eagles' innings (125.1) across 26 appearances. With a 14-6 record, King has allowed 129 hits, 59 earned runs, and 44 walks while striking out 94 on a 3.30 ERA. As a team, the Eagles are in the top-25 in 15 categories: hits, double plays, doubles, doubles per game, fielding percentage, hits, on-base percentage, scoring, slugging percentage, steals per game, total runs, steals, triples, triples per game, and walks.

Queens (22-18, 9-7 SAC) has a pair of SAC series before its meetup with Tusculum: at Carson-Newman and hosting UVA Wise. Haley Nelson has notched 39 hits to lead the Royals, including a team-best 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Gerlea Patton has drawn 23 walks, while Jordan Hunt's 12 doubles are a team-high. Jordan Dunn is the Royals' ace with an 11-10 mark across 25 appearances. She has 15 complete games and two saves through 123.0 innings. Dunn has struck out 93 batters while relenting 126 hits (41 for extra bases), 70 earned runs, and 50 walks.

Links to live stats and video, when available, for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.