April 21, 2010

Five Lady Eagles Receive All-SAC Honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Five Carson-Newman Lady Eagles garnered 2010 All-South Atlantic Conference softball honors, league officials announced Wednesday.

Sophomore Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) was named to the first team as a utility player, while Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Sara Little (Calhoun, Ga.), Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.) and Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) received second team accolades.

Shealy was among the league leaders in batting average (.380) this season and was second on the team in home runs with five. She also compiled a 12-4 record and recorded five saves for C-N as a pitcher with a 1.91 earned run average and 85 strikeouts.

Howard, a senior shortstop who batted .390 this season, led the SAC in stolen bases with 30 and was among the league leaders in hits (55) and runs scored (38).

Little, a senior first baseman produced a team-best six home runs for C-N this season to become the Lady Eagles' all-time leader. She batted .367 with 11 doubles and a team-high 42 RBIs.

Durham, a junior outfielder who hit at a .306 clip for the Lady Eagles, produced eight doubles and 29 RBIs and was second in the SAC in triples with four.

Shoemake, a freshman catcher, had a solid start to her Lady Eagle career as she finished the regular season with a .362 average. She was third in the conference in doubles with 17 and was also among the league's best in hits (50) and RBIs (39).

Lenoir-Rhyne junior shortstop Kat Rivers, who helped lead the Bears to the conference championship, and Newberry senior pitcher Amanda Huckestein headline the 2010 All-SAC teams as Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Lenoir-Rhyne coach Shena Hollar, who guided the Bears to their sixth conference championship in the last 11 years, was named Coach of the Year for the third time in her career.

Lenoir-Rhyne freshman pitcher Alex Smith, who went 18-3 in the circle with a 1.25 ERA with 74 strikeouts and four shutouts, was named Freshman of the Year.

Rivers led the conference with 141 total bases. She was second in the league with a.435 batting average.

Huckestein picked up her second straight Pitcher of the Year award. This season, she went 18-6 in the circle and led the conference with a 1.03 ERA while striking out 192 batters.

Mars Hill College's Rebekah Huff received the Scholar-Athlete Award for softball. Huff is a senior majoring in Math and carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and will serve as Valedictorian for the 2010 graduating class.

She was a second-team All-Conference selection at second base in 2009 and is batting .331 this season.

Huff is actively involved in the Locust Grove church youth group, where she plays drums in the church band. She also volunteers as a math tutor at local high schools.

Conference champion Lenoir-Rhyne led the way with six All-Conference selections, including five on the first team. C-N had five All-Conference selections

The awards will be presented Thursday after the third game of the 2010 Food Lion SAC Softball Tournament, which will be played at Wingate University.

The South Atlantic Conference All-Conference teams are selected by the league's head coaches.

Regular season statistical champions and senior awards were also announced.

2010 SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Catcher - Sarah Atkins, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry
Pitcher - Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher - Brittany Blankenship, Wingate
1st base - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill
2nd base - Carlee Carpenter, Lenoir-Rhyne
Shortstop - Kat Rivers, Lenoir-Rhyne
3rd base - Natalie Haithcox, Mars Hill
Outfield - Brittany Cherry, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - LaRonda McClain, Wingate
Outfield - Aissa Gatewood, Newberry
Utility - Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman

SECOND TEAM
Catcher - Bri Shoemake, Carson-Newman
Pitcher - Alex Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher - Martika Elmore, Brevard
1st base - Sarah Little, Carson-Newman
2nd base - Allie Marshall, Catawba
Shortstop - Jessie Howard, Carson-Newman
3rd base - Maddie Fletcher, Brevard
Outfield - Carly Sabat, Catawba
Outfield - Chelsea Chipoletti, Newberry
Outfield - Whitney Durham, Carson-Newman

Utility - Meghan LaFevor, Lincoln Memorial
Player of the Year - Kat Rivers, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher of the Year - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry
Freshman of the Year - Alex Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne
Coach of the Year - Shena Hollar, Lenoir-Rhyne
Scholar-Athlete - Rebekah Huff, Mars Hill

Statistical Champions
Batting Average - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill, .464
On-Base Percentage - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill, .504
Slugging Percentage - Kat Rivers, Lenoir-Rhyne, .839
Home Runs Per Game - Ashley Duckworth, Lenoir-Rhyne, 0.36
RBIs Per Game - Allie Marshall, Catawba, 1.33
Runs Scored Per Game - Kathryn Geouge, Catawba, 1.14
Triples Per Game - Jackie Adams, Lincoln Memorial, 0.12
Doubles Per Game - Chelsi Mallory, Brevard, 0.49
Stolen Bases Per Game - Jessie Howard, Carson-Newman, 0.73
Earned Run Average - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry, 1.03
Strikeouts Per Game - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry, 9.38
Pitching Victories - Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne, 19
Team Batting Average - Lenoir-Rhyne, .333
Team Slugging Percentage - Lenoir-Rhyne, .578
Team Runs Scored Per Game - 6.78
Team Home Runs Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 1.62
Team RBIs Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 6.20
Team On-Base Percentage - Carson-Newman, .424
Team Stolen Bases Per Game - Carson-Newman, 2.07
Team Earned Run Average - Wingate, 1.48