SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford outfielder Shelby Maze 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. Mercer outfielder Micayla Rood earned Freshman of the Year honors, while sixth-year UNCG head coach Janelle Breneman was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
The league’s coaches also selected two all-conference teams and an all-freshman squad.
Maze was tabbed the top player in the conference after leading the SoCon in batting average (.410) and hits (68), while recording 37 runs, 13 RBIs and four triples. Maze, the 2015 SoCon Freshman of the Year, also finished 18-for-19 on stolen base attempts and was the only player in the SoCon to hit north of .400. Following a strong senior campaign, Maze now holds the Samford program records for triples, hits, runs scored and batting average in a career. The Morris, Alabama, native is the second Bulldog in the past three years to earn the player of the year award, joining Megan Dowdy, who claimed the award in 2016. Maze has recorded 21 multiple-hit games this season and reeled off a 15-game hitting streak along with a 19-game reached-base-safely streak during the regular season.
Bert earns her second consecutive pitcher of the year award after leading the nation in strikeouts with 317 in addition to leading the league in innings pitched (230), wins (25), saves (four), appearances (38) and games started (33). Bert also ranked second with a 1.58 ERA this season and her 317 strikeouts are 158 more than the next closest pitcher in the SoCon. Forty-six of Bert’s strikeouts caught opposing batters looking while the left-hander threw 31 complete games. The senior earned five weekly awards this season, giving her a SoCon-record 12 weekly pitcher of the week awards. Bert was also selected as the pitcher of the month for April, giving her a conference-record four in her career. The Tallahassee, Florida, native finished the SoCon slate with an 8-3 record, amassing a jaw-dropping 128 strikeouts and a 1.17 ERA against SoCon opponents while holding opposing hitters to a .164 batting average. Bert is the sixth student-athlete in conference history to win the award in back-to-back years and first since Georgia Southern’s Sarah Purvis did so from 2012-14. Bert earned all possible first-place votes.
Rood has a solid rookie season for the Bears after finishing the regular season with the fifth-best batting average in the league (.347) and collecting 34 hits in 98 at bats. Rood also tallied 18 runs scored, six RBIs and 38 total bases in 42 games. Rood, who logged 24 of her 36 starts as the designated player, led the Bears in batting average and finished with a .366 on-base percentage. This is the first SoCon Freshman of the Year award for Mercer in program history.
Breneman led UNCG to its first outright SoCon regular-season title in 2018 and its second consecutive after sharing the regular-season crown with Furman last season. The sixth-year coach led the Spartans to a 43-11 overall record, including a 6-1 record against ACC opponents, and a 13-3 mark in conference play. This is the first SoCon Coach of the Year award for UNCG in program history.
UNCG led the way in all-conference balloting with eight players nabbing spots on the all-conference teams. Mercer tallied seven representatives, followed by ETSU, Furman and Chattanooga with five each. Samford claimed three all-conference players, while Western Carolina rounded the teams out with two selections. UNCG had a league-high four All-SoCon first-teamers and was followed by Furman and Mercer with three each.
The first team features Samford’s Maze in the outfield, Furman’s Bert at pitcher and Mercer’s Rood at designated player. Joining Bert is Alicia Bazonski, a senior at UNCG, who finished third in the SoCon with a 1.95 ERA and second with 17 wins. Mercer junior Megan Lane slots in at catcher, while UNCG redshirt junior Marisa Sholtes earns her second consecutive honor at first base after batting a blistering .375 with 52 RBIs this year. Sholtes’ teammates Jasmine Palmer and Garbielle Cubbage nabbed spots at second base and third base, respectively, while 2017 Freshman of the Year Casey Bigham also earned first-team honors at second base for Furman due to a tie in the voting. Chattanooga senior Brook Womack rounded out the first team infield at shortstop, finishing with the third-best batting average in the league (.371), 52 hits, 34 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Joining Maze in the outfield is Mercer’s Meghan Rud, who led the conference with 29 stolen bases and was sixth with a .340 batting average, and Chattanooga sophomore Aly Walker, who ranked fourth in the conference with a .371 batting average and sixth with a .431 on-base percentage. Furman’s junior Emily Demonte was tabbed the first team’s utility player.
Mercer sophomore Stella Preston and UNCG junior Stephanie Bryden were voted on as second-team pitchers. Western Carolina catcher Madison Armstrong and Furman senior first baseman AnnaRose Borrelli also garnered second-team honors. 2018 marks the second consecutive year Preston and Armstrong earned the distinction. Chattanooga senior second baseman Ashley Conner claimed a spot on the team at second base, while Furman senior Hannah Reynolds and Samford freshman Ashlyn Barnes claimed spots on the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop, respectively.
In the outfield for the second team are ETSU junior Vanessa Elliott, UNCG freshman Makenna Matthijs and Western Carolina junior Hunter Gibbons. ETSU junior Taylor Wright is the second-team designated player, while Chattanooga senior J.J. Hamill rounds out the second team in the utility slot.
The all-freshman squad was led by ETSU and Mercer, who each boasted three selections. ETSU’s Julia Fritz, Lauren Lee and Kelly Warren were joined by Mercer’s Rood, Allie Jones and Laurenne Sanchez. UNCG’s Matthijs and Hannah Stiltner represented the Spartans, while Samford utility player Ashlyn Barnes and Chattanooga pitcher Allison Swinford rounded out the all-freshman selections.
In all, 10 players made their second consecutive appearance on the All-SoCon teams.
The 2018 SoCon Softball Championship begins Wednesday at UNCG Softball Stadium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 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 ESPN+, and all other games will be available on the SoCon Digital Network.
2018 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year
Shelby Maze, Samford, Sr., OF
Pitcher of the Year
Lindsey Bert, Furman, Sr.
Freshman of the Year
Micayla Rood, Mercer, OF
Coach of the Year
Janelle Breneman, UNCG
All-SoCon First Team
P – Lindsey Bert, Furman, Sr.
P – Alicia Bazonski, UNCG, Sr.
C – Megan Lane, Mercer, Jr.
1B – Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, R-Jr.
*2B – Casey Bigham, Furman, So.
*2B – Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, Jr.
3B – Gabrielle Cubbage, UNCG, Sr.
SS – Brook Womack, Chattanooga, Sr.
OF – Meghan Rud, Mercer, Sr.
OF – Shelby Maze, Samford, Sr.
OF – Aly Walker, Chattanooga, So.
DP – Micayla Rood, Mercer, Fr.
UT – Emily Demonte, Furman, Jr.
*tie
All-SoCon Second Team
P – Stella Preston, Mercer, So.
P – Stephanie Bryden, UNCG, Jr.
C – Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, Jr.
1B – AnnaRose Borrelli, Furman, Sr.
2B – Ashley Conner, Chattanooga, Sr.
3B – Hannah Reynolds, Furman, Sr.
SS – Ashlyn Barnes, Samford, Fr.
OF – Vanessa Elliott, ETSU, Jr.
OF – Makenna Matthijs, UNCG, Fr.
OF – Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, Jr.
DP – Taylor Wright, ETSU, Jr.
UT – J.J. Hamill, Chattanooga, Sr.
All-Freshman Team
Julia Fritz, ETSU
Lauren Lee, ETSU
Kelly Warren, ETSU
Allie Jones, Mercer
Micayla Rood, Mercer
Laurenne Sanchez, Mercer
Makenna Matthijs, UNCG
Hannah Stiltner, UNCG
Ashlyn Barnes, Samford
Allison Swinford, Chattanooga