Four Student-Athletes Honored for Excellence in Competition
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Southern Conference announced its May athletes of the month today, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month. The athletes of the month are nominated by each member institution and selected by the conference office.
BASEBALL PLAYER
Justin Mackert, The Citadel, So., 1B
Mackert raised his batting average from .307 to .338 in the month while reaching base in 17 of 18 games and hitting safely in 15 of them. The speedy sophomore swiped 15-of-16 bases in helping the Bulldogs take the lead in the SoCon in stolen bases over the month. The Cleveland, Ohio native’s best weekend came at Georgia Southern as he homered in all three games to help the Bulldogs sweep the Eagles and claim the outright SoCon regular season title. In the SoCon Tournament, Mackert was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player as he batted. 467 in four games, with five runs, seven RBIs, and a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases. For the month, Mackert batted .424 with 22 runs scored and 14 RBIs.
Other Nominees: Kyle Blackburn (Georgia Southern), Trey Hayes (Samford), Matt Johns (Western Carolina), Joey Bergman (College of Charleston), Neal Pritchard (Elon), Brian Harrison (Furman) and Landon Bennett (Wofford).
BASEBALL PITCHER
Jimmy Reyes, Elon, Jr., LHP
Reyes was 3-0 in three starts during the month of May, surrendering just four runs in 24 innings on the mound. The junior all-conference performer worked at least seven innings in all three starts, including a complete-game shutout of Samford in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament. In that contest, Reyes fanned nine Bulldogs en route to earning All-Tournament team honors. The southpaw totaled 24 strikeouts in his 24 innings, accompanied with a 6-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio and only two extra-base hits.
Other Nominees: Brandon Johnson (Western Carolina), Kevin Decker (College of Charleston), Matt Talley (The Citadel), Matt Murray (Georgia Southern) and Brandon Yarusi (Wofford).
SOFTBALL PLAYER
Jacqueline Gonzalez, Elon, Jr., 2B
Gonzalez led Elon with a .442 batting average during the month of May while helping guide the Phoenix to its first-ever SoCon Championship in a women’s sport since it joined the league for the 2003-04 academic year. Gonzalez went 4-for-4 with a walk and a run scored against Winthrop on May 8, which was one of six multiple-hit games. The junior also batted 3-for-4 with a run against eventual College World Series participant Georgia in the NCAA Softball Regional.
Other Nominees: Megen Smith (Georgia Southern), Alex Emeterio (UNC Greensboro) and Katie England (Samford).
SOFTBALL PITCHER
Amber Harrell, UNC Greensboro, Sr., RHP
Harrell was 4-3 on the month with a 1.82 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 50 innings of work. The senior went 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA at the Southern Conference tournament, appearing in all four games while striking out 17 and not issuing a single walk in 19 innings. For her efforts, she was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player as the Spartans finished as runners-up to Elon. Among her top efforts in May was a one-hitter in the tournament opener against top seed Chattanooga in which her no-hitter was broken up with a two-out home run in the seventh inning.
Other Nominees: Lauren Taylor (Elon), Brianna Streetmon (Georgia Southern) and Kayla Burris (Samford).
Southern Conference May Athletes of the Month
Baseball (Player) Justin Mackert, The Citadel
Baseball (Pitcher) Jimmy Reyes, Elon
Softball (Player) Jacqueline Gonzalez, Elon
Softball (Pitcher) Amber Harrell, UNC Greensboro