Hartsville, S.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (46-11), ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division II, was eliminated from the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Championship with a pair of losses to Carson-Newman (42-11) and Coker (41-16) by scores of 1-0 and 4-3, respectively, Saturday at Byerly Park.

The Eagles and Cobras will play for the league championship on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Carson-Newman 1, Lenoir-Rhyne 0
The Eagles broke a scoreless tie when Kristen Toppel (Roanoke, Va.) came through with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out as Carson-Newman advanced to the title game.

Carson-Newman's Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) threw a two-hit shutout to lead the Eagles.  Rinus improved to 25-5 after striking out nine while freshman Sydney Miller (East Bend, N.C.) suffered the loss despite allowing one unearned run.

Coker 4, Lenoir-Rhyne 3
The Cobras' Tayler Barcomb (St. George, S.C.) hit a two-run home run as Coker was able to hold on and beat Lenoir-Rhyne to advance to the finals on Sunday.

Lenoir-Rhyne lost despite solo home runs from senior catcher Sarah Kenley (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore outfielder Erin Boone (Creedmoor, N.C.).  

For Coker, Augusta Jackson (Kingsland, Ga.) improved to 8-2 after taking the win while Christine Carver (Waxhaw, N.C.) pitched the final three innings for her fourth save of the year.  Miller (14-7) was tagged with the defeat.

Lenoir-Rhyne, ranked fifth in the region, will now wait and see if it advances to the NCAA Division II Playoffs which begins with the Southeast Region Tournament (Friday, May 12 – Sunday, May 14).