April 15, 2009

Story courtesy of Trevecca Nazarene Sports Information Office

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trevecca Nazarene University softball player Chelsea Bailey continued her assault on the record books on Tuesday, grabbing the NAIA record for longest hitting streak. The All-American centerfielder notched a hit in each of the Trojans' two games against TranSouth foe and NAIA No. 21 Freed-Hardeman, to stretch her streak to 30 games.

The streak dates back to the final game of last season, when Bailey (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) posted a 1-for-4 performance in the Trojans loss to Nationally-Ranked Point Loma Nazarene University in the NAIA National Tournament. This season, Bailey has been on a tear, posting a .440 average and recording at least one hit in all 29 of the team's games this season. The previous record NAIA record was 28 games, set by Kim White of Shawnee State (Ohio) from March 22 to April 27, 1996.

This is the third consecutive season that Bailey has produced a hitting streak for more than 23 games. During her junior season, Bailey had a 25-game hit streak and as a sophomore the Wilson Central product had a 23 game hit streak.

Bailey has only gone hitless in 36 of her 203 games at Trevecca. In her junior and sophomore season she only 11 games without a hit each season. Bailey played in 62 games as a junior and 62 in her sophomore campaign. As a freshman, she had a hit in 30 of her 44 games.

In addition to Bailey’s new record, her 50 steals as a sophomore ranks her sixth in the NAIA for steals in a season. The Trevecca career steals record holder, has 131 career stolen bases. She is also ranked in the top 10 on the NAIA hits in a season list for her 96 hits as a sophomore. Bailey’s career batting average of .402 places her in the NAIA career top 10. Her 201 career runs scored puts her in the NAIA top 10 and she is approaching the top 10 in career hits with 262.