SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU outfielder Danielle Knoetze and Furman left-handed ace Lindsey Bert have been named Southern Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, as voted by the league's head coaches and announced by the conference office on Tuesday. Furman second baseman Casey Bigham earned Freshman of the Year honors, while fifth-year Paladin head coach Kyle Jameison was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
The league's coaches also selected two all-conference teams and an all-freshman squad.
Knoetze was tabbed the top player in the conference after leading the SoCon in slugging percentage (.646) and home runs (10), while hitting .361 at the plate, knocking in 37 runs, and scoring 32 runs for the Bucs this season. The senior led the league with 102 total bases and tied for third in the league with 15 doubles on the year. Knoetze's signature performance came in the Bucs' rubber match against Furman on April 30 – also senior day – as the San Diego, California, native went 4-for-4 at the plate, including two doubles, while tallying a season-high five RBIs against Bert and the Paladins.
Bert, a junior, dominated the circle, collecting a SoCon-best 18 wins in addition to logging the league's top ERA of 2.00 in 34 total appearances, recording a league-high 189 innings of work for the Paladins. In addition to leading the SoCon in wins and ERA, Bert led the conference with 191 strikeouts, which is good for 24th in the country and is 81 strikeouts more than the next closest pitcher in the SoCon. Thirty-four of Bert's 191 strikeouts caught opposing batters looking, which was the second-highest mark in the SoCon this season. The left-hander from Tallahassee, Florida, was also tied for first in the league, with an opposing batting average of .206. In conference play, Bert was the winner of SoCon-best eight league contests, including her first five consecutive starts against Samford, Western Carolina and Mercer. Bert also recorded a jaw-dropping 89 strikeouts in conference play, more than doubling the next-closest pitcher. She also garnered a league-best five SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors and swept monthly honors in February, March and April.
Bigham had a tremendous rookie season for the Paladins after finishing second on the team in batting average (.306), collecting 37 hits in 121 at-bats. The Waxhaw, North Carolina, native racked up 24 RBIs – also good for second on the team – in 51 games played, 39 of which she started. Bigham totaled 10 extra-base hits with five doubles, three home runs and two triples this season. In the field, Bigham achieved a fielding percentage of .993 after recording just one error in 152 chances.
Jameison led Furman to its first SoCon regular-season title since 1995 after going 31-21 overall and 11-6 SoCon in SoCon play. This is Jameison's first Coach of the Year honor of her career and he is the first Paladin coach to receive the annual award since Bonnie Flynn in 2000.
Mercer and UNCG led the way in all-conference balloting with five players nabbing spots on the all-conference teams. Furman tallied four representatives, followed by ETSU and Samford with three each. Chattanooga and Western Carolina both claimed two all-conference players. Furman and Samford both have a league-high three All-SoCon first-teamers.
The first team features ETSU's Knoetze in the outfield and Furman's Bert and Bigham at pitcher and second base, respectively. Joining Bert is Megan Bilgri, a junior at Mercer, who finished second in the SoCon in ERA (2.30). Samford senior catcher Abby Sweeney slots in at catcher, while UNCG redshirt-sophomore Marisa Sholtes is at first base and teammate Gabrielle Cubbage nabbed the third base slot. Furman junior Brittany Houston is the first-team shortstop.
Joining Knoetze in the outfield is Mercer's Meghan Rud, who led the conference in runs scored (41) and stolen bases (37) and was third in batting average (.392) and on-base percentage (.462), and Samford junior Shelby Maze, who was the only player in the conference to hit north of .400 at .421. Chattanooga's Emma Sturdivant, a sophomore, was named the designated player on the first team, while Samford sophomore Madison Couch was tabbed the first team's utility player.
Mercer freshman Stella Preston and UNCG's Alicia Bazonski, a junior, were voted on as second-team pitchers. Western Carolina sophomore catcher Madison Armstrong and ETSU senior first baseman Taylor Carter also garnered All-SoCon second-team honors. Mercer junior Quirisa Mauga and Rachael McClaskey, a junior at UNCG, claimed spots on the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop, respectively.
In the outfield for the second team is ETSU sophomore Tiffany Laughren, Mercer senior Taylor Miller and Western Carolina sophomore Hunter Gibbons. Paladin senior Elise Smith is the second-team designated player, while Chattanooga senior Katy Richardson rounds out the second team in the utility slot.
The all-freshman squad includes Bigham, ETSU shortstop Nikki Grupp and catcher Kylie Toler, Mercer right-handed pitcher Preston, Samford infielder Whitney Hinton, Chattanooga outfielders Amy Lewis, Aly Walker and Hayleigh Weissenbach, Western Carolina second baseman Erica Hayes and Catamount shortstop Ashlyn Long.
The 2017 SoCon Softball Championship begins Wednesday at Frost Stadium on the campus of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The tournament will culminate Saturday with the championship game(s) at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (if necessary). Saturday's action will be broadcast on ESPN3, and all other games will be available on the SoCon Digital Network.
2017 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year
Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr., OF
Pitcher of the Year
Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
Freshman of the Year
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
Coach of the Year
Kyle Jameison, Furman
All-SoCon First Team
P – Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
P – Megan Bilgri, Mercer, Jr.
C – Abby Sweeney, Samford, Sr.
1B – Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, R-So.
2B – Casey Bigham, Furman, Fr.
3B – Gabrielle Cubbage, UNCG, Jr.
SS – Brittany Houston, Furman, Jr.
OF – Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr.
OF – Meghan Rud, Mercer, Jr.
OF – Shelby Maze, Samford, Jr.
DP – Emma Sturdivant, Chattanooga, So.
UT – Madison Couch, Samford, So.
All-SoCon Second Team
P – Stella Preston, Mercer, Fr.
P – Alicia Bazonski, UNCG, Jr.
C – Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, So.
1B – Taylor Carter, ETSU, Sr.
2B – Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, So.
3B – Quirisa Mauga, Mercer, Jr.
SS – Rachael McClaskey, UNCG, Jr.
OF – Tiffany Laughren, ETSU, So.
OF – Taylor Miller, Mercer, Sr.
OF – Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, So.
DP – Elise Smith, Furman, Sr.
UT – Katy Richardson, Chattanooga, Sr.
All-Freshman Team
Nikki Grupp, ETSU, SS
Kylie Toler, ETSU, C
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
Stella Preston, Mercer, P
Whitney Hinton, Samford, 2B/SS
Amy Lewis, Chattanooga, OF
Aly Walker, Chattanooga, OF
Hayleigh Weissenbach, Chattanooga, OF
Erica Hayes, Western Carolina 2B
Ashlyn Long, Western Carolina, SS
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