SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman designated player Marissa Guimbarda and Chattanooga right-handed ace Celie Hudson 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. Chattanooga shortstop Emily Coltharp earned Freshman of the Year honors, while seventh-year UNCG head coach Janelle Breneman was tabbed the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The league’s coaches also selected two all-conference teams and an all-freshman squad. The second team includes three pitchers due to a tie in the voting.
Guimbarda was tabbed the top player in the conference after hitting .348 and slugging .754, a league best. She started all 49 games for the Paladins and amassed a league-best 104 bases and hit a league-high 16 home runs. The sophomore designated player was honored as the SoCon player of the week on March 4 after batting .522 (12-for-23) with six home runs and 12 RBIs over seven games. The native of Suwanee, Georgia, is the sixth Furman player to earn Player of the Year recognition and the first since Sieara Bishop in 2015.
Hudson earns pitcher of the year honors after boasting a league-best 1.10 ERA in conference contests and holding opposing batters to a .247 batting average. She was 6-4 in league play and struck out 55 batters while pitching a conference-high 76 2/3 innings. Overall, the Paris, Tennessee, native struck out 131 batters in 151 2/3 innings.
Hudson, a three-time SoCon pitcher of the week this season and the April player of the month, is Chattanooga’s first pitcher of the year since 2008 and 10th in league history.
Coltharp, who started all 49 games at shortstop, has had a solid rookie season for the Mocs after finishing the regular season with the third-best batting average in the league (.355) and collecting 49 hits in 138 at bats. She also scored 29 runs and went 11-for-15 on stolen base attempts. The native of McDonough, Georgia, is the Mocs’ first freshman of the year recipient since Michelle Fuzzard in 2008 and the seventh to earn the award since the league began sponsoring the sport in 1994.
Breneman led UNCG to its second straight outright SoCon regular-season title in 2019 and its third consecutive after sharing the regular-season crown with Furman in 2017. She led the Spartans to a 30-21 overall record and a 12-5 mark in conference play.
Chattanooga led the way in all-conference balloting with 10 total selections, with eight nabbing spots on the all-conference teams and two on the all-freshman team. UNCG tallied seven representatives, followed by Mercer with six. Furman claimed four total selections, while ETSU and Western Carolina each had three and Samford followed with two selections.
Chattanooga also had a league-high three All-SoCon first-teamers and was followed by ETSU, Furman, Mercer and UNCG with two each.
The first team features Furman’s Guimbarda as the designated player, Chattanooga’s Hudson at pitcher and Chattanooga’s Coltharp at shortstop. Joining Hudson is Stephanie Bryden, a senior at UNCG, who finished third in the SoCon with a 2.58 ERA and led the conference in overall wins (22), strikeouts (220) and innings pitched (190). UNCG freshman Delaney Cumbie, joining Coltharp as one of two freshman first-team selections, nabbed the first-team all-conference spot at catcher as she led the league in on-base percentage (.484). Chattanooga senior first baseman Emma Sturdivant picked up her first all-conference postseason honor after hitting .349 on the season, fourth-best among conference players, and recording 332 putouts to just five errors all year.
Mercer’s Danielle Castleberry was the first-team honoree at second base. The redshirt sophomore led the league in batting average (.373) and was second in on-base percentage (.473) and total plate appearances (193). ETSU junior Nikki Grupp was the pick at third base as her .631 slugging percentage was third-best in the league and her 36 runs scored was good enough for second. Furman’s Cammy Pereira, Mercer’s Shaila Warren and Western Carolina’s Hunter Gibbons were the outfielders recognized. Pereira started all 49 games for the Paladins and led the league in triples (six), while Warren’s .383 batting average in conference play was third-best. Gibbons hit .327 at the plate and was in the top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. ETSU’s Julia Fritz was tabbed the first team’s utility player.
Furman senior Emily DeMonte, Mercer freshman Bailey Pattison and Chattanooga freshman Mariah Ramirez were voted on as second-team pitchers. Mocs senior Amanda Beltran, who finished the regular-season in the top five in the league in slugging percentage, RBIs, home runs and total bases, was honored at catcher and UNCG redshirt senior Marisa Sholtes was the pick at first base. Samford’s Whitney Hinton was chosen as the second baseman while UNCG freshman Gabi Howard got the nod at third base. Western Carolina’s Ashlyn Long was picked at shortstop while ETSU’s Kelly Warren, Mercer’s Micayla Rood and Chattanooga’s Hayleigh Weissenbach were the three outfielders selected.
Chattanooga’s Aly Walker was the designated player while Chattanooga senior Morgan Kazerooni got the nod at utility.
The all-freshman squad was led by UNCG, who boasted three selections in Cumbie, Howard and Kamryn Graves. Mercer and Chattanooga had two each as the Bears placed Pattison and Tori Ash and the Mocs placed Coltharp and Ramirez. Furman’s Mackense Greico, Samford’s Merritt Cahoon and Western Carolina’s Bailey Huneycutt rounded out the 10-member team.
In all, six players made their second consecutive appearance on the All-SoCon teams.
The 2019 SoCon Softball Championship begins Wednesday at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The tournament, hosted by Chattanooga, 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.
2019 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year
Marissa Guimbarda, Furman, So., DP
Pitcher of the Year
Celie Hudson, Chattanooga, Jr.
Freshman of the Year
Emily Coltharp, Chattanooga, SS
Coach of the Year
Janelle Breneman, UNCG
All-SoCon First Team
P – Stephanie Bryden, UNCG, Sr.
P – Celie Hudson, Chattanooga, Jr.
C – Delaney Cumbie, UNCG, Fr.
1B – Emma Sturdivant, Chattanooga, Sr.
2B – Danielle Castleberry, Mercer, R-So.
3B – Nikki Grupp, ETSU, Jr.
SS – Emily Coltharp, Chattanooga, Fr.
OF – Cammy Pereira, Furman, So.
OF – Shaila Warren, Mercer, So.
OF – Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, Sr.
DP – Marissa Guimbarda, Furman, So.
UT – Julia Fritz, ETSU, So.
All-SoCon Second Team
P – Emily DeMonte, Furman, Sr.
P – Bailey Pattison, Mercer, Fr.
P – Mariah Ramirez, Chattanooga, Fr.
C – Amanda Beltran, Chattanooga, Sr.
1B – Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, Sr.
2B – Whitney Hinton, Samford, Jr.
3B – Gabi Howard, UNCG, Fr.
SS – Ashlyn Long, Western Carolina, Jr.
OF – Kelly Warren, ETSU, So.
OF – Micayla Rood, Mercer, So.
OF – Hayleigh Weissenbach, Chattanooga, Jr.
DP – Aly Walker, Chattanooga, Jr.
UT – Morgan Kazerooni, Chattanooga, Sr.
All-Freshman Team
Mackense Greico, Furman
Tori Ash, Mercer
Bailey Pattison, Mercer
Delaney Cumbie, UNCG
Kamryn Graves, UNCG
Gabi Howard, UNCG
Merritt Cahoon, Samford
Emily Coltharp, Chattanooga
Mariah Ramirez, Chattanooga
Bailey Huneycutt, Western Carolina
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