Softball Southern Conference

Three SoCon Softball Players Named All-Region

Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information

 

CULLOWHEE, NC - Western Carolina junior outfielder Ashley Adams and freshman pitcher Mendy McKenzie were both honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) today by being named to the 2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Southeastern All-Region team, as chosen by NFCA member coaches from each region. Both Adams and McKenzie are now eligible for selection to the All-America first, second, or third teams to be selected in early June.

 

A total of 237 players from 116 different teams comprise the first and second teams from nine different regional areas.

 

Adams rewrote the Southern Conference record books in Western’s inaugural season, shattering the previous mark for home runs in a single-season, 17, by blasting 21 to lead the league and rank sixth nationally in home runs per game (0.36) as of May 14. She helped the Catamounts blast 81 round-trippers, also a SoCon record.

 

The Hickory, N.C., product by way of Walters State Community College also topped the conference’s seasonal RBI charts with 61, marking the second-best, single-season in conference history, four shy of breaking that record. She averaged 1.03 runs driven in per game to rank 12th in the nation. Adams finished the season hitting .309 (56-for-181), third on the team and in the top 15 among all SoCon hitters, while also leading the SoCon in total bases (124), ranked second in slugging percentage (.685) and fourth in runs scored (44).

 

During the historic inaugural season, Adams was credited with both the first-ever single (to right field, bottom 2nd vs. Tennessee Tech, 2/11/06) and the first grand slam, hitting a four-RBI homer to left center in the bottom of the first in the home opener versus South Carolina State.

 

Leading the team and SoCon in wins (22) and strikeouts (207) during the regular season, McKenzie was dubbed the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year after a stellar freshman season in the circle. She earned a conference-record five pitcher of the week accolades and stands just four awards shy of tying the all-time career record of nine. She also garnered the league’s pitcher of the month honor twice in both February and March. The Clemmons, N.C., native concluded WCU’s inaugural season with a 2.28 earned run average (ERA), third in the SoCon, in 196.2 innings pitched. Fanning three in the conference championship, McKenzie finished with 210 strikeouts in her rookie season, which ranks seventh on the SoCon’s all-time single-season charts, while also posting a 22-7 overall record to land in the conference’s all-time top 10.

 

McKenzie holds the distinction of throwing the first-ever pitch (a strike versus Tennessee Tech, 2/11/06), first strikeout (vs. TTU, 2/11/06), and tallying the first-ever win (vs. TTU, 2/11/06) and save (vs. UNC Wilmington, 3/11/06). She also holds the school record for strikeouts in a game, fanning 11 on two separate occasions (vs. Pittsburgh, 3/7/06; vs. North Carolina A&T, 4/13/06).

 

The 2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America softball teams will be released in early June as a part of the Women’s College World Series.

 

 

2006 Southeastern All-Region Softball Teams

 

First Team

Pitcher:       Crystal Cox, North Carolina; Kasi Carrol, Georgia

1st Base:    Whitney Haller, Georgia Tech

2nd Base:   Veronica Wootson, Florida State

3rd Base:    Megan McAllister, Georgia

Shortstop:   Yuruby Alicart, Florida State

Catcher:      Kristen Butler, Florida

Outfielders:  Kellie Middleton, Georgia; Amy Hosier, Georgia Tech; Natasha Jacobs, Florida State

Utility:         Meagen Johnson, Coastal Carolina; Jessica Doucette, Georgia

DP:             Tabitha Embry, Florida International

 

Second Team

 

Pitcher:       Abbie Sims, NC State; Shaina Ervin, NC State; Mendy McKenzie, Western Carolina;

                  Ashley Taylor, Radford; Elizabeth Hyman, Georgia State

1st Base:    Jennifer Jacobs, North Carolina

2nd Base:   Cassie Palmer, North Carolina

3rd Base:    Melissa Wiggins, Stetson; Maggie Wolfe, Hampton

Shortstop:   Ryan Washington, Longwood

Catcher:      Savannah Brown, Georgia Tech

Outfielders:  Ashley Adams, Western Carolina; Courtney Knight, Georgia; Caitlin Hooe, Longwood;

                  Shanita Black, Georgia Southern

Utility:         Katie Rosentreter, Mercer

DP:             Casey Testa, North Carolina

 

 

Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information

 

STARKVILLE, MS - Georgia Southern senior Shanita Black was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Southeast Region softball team, University officials announced Wednesday.

 

Black, a senior from Fayetteville, N.C., is the 2006 Southern Conference Player of the Year and was tabbed the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player last weekend, leading the Eagles to the tournament title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

 

She becomes the second GSU player to earn all-region honors, joining Crystal Crews in 2002.

 

Carrying a .408 batting average, Black has broken 12 school records and one league mark this season, and leads the conference in four different categories, including runs, hits, triples and stolen bases.

 

In March and April, Black recorded a 30-game hitting streak, the longest in school history.

 

Black is a three-time All-SoCon performer and is Georgia Southern’s career leader in at bats, hits, runs, triples, stolen bases and batting average.