ROCK HILL, S.C. - Four Anderson University softball players earned First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference honors on the eve of the league tournament, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Junior first baseman Danielle Swygert, sophomore second baseman Jessica Neidigh, freshman outfielder Molly Child and junior Bailey Smith garnered the accolades as the second-seeded Trojans prepare to face seventh-seeded Wingate in Thursday's opening round of the SAC Tournament.
Anderson (37-11) is one win away from equaling last season's school-record win tally, with Swygert, Neidigh and Child all stating every game on the diamond this season, while Smith saw time in the circle and notching 17 wins.
Swygert ranked second in the league in RBI (55), third in batting average (.407) and fifth in both slugging and on-base percentage. Neidigh led the league with 59 runs scored and although the league cut-off for physically publishing statistics was last Saturday, Neidigh's 5-for-6 performance versus Erskine in the rainout makeup doubleheader on Monday boosted her batting average to .463, which was tops in the league.
Child ranked second in the conference with 46 runs scored and also ranked in the league's top 10 in doubles, RBI, home runs, walks and on-base percentage. In addition to her 24 appearances in the circle, Smith posted a .320 batting average at the plate, while ranking second on the team in home runs with eight. She recorded 10 doubles on the season and drove in 42 runs.
As a team, Anderson led the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored per game, home runs per game and RBI per game.
Carson-Newman shortstop Brittany Hefner was named the 2013 SAC
Softball Player of the Year.
Hefner, who helped Carson-Newman finish tied for third in the
regular-season conference standings, had a monstrous season at the
plate for the Eagles. She hit .463 with 19 home runs -the
second-most in a season in conference history - and a league-record
75 RBI. She also led the conference with a .523 on-base percentage
and a .993 slugging percentage.
Hefner had nine three-hit games during the regular season and
recorded four or more RBI on eight occasions.
Joining Hefner on the list of honorees was Catawba's Carley
Tysinger, who earned both the SAC Pitcher of the Year and SAC
Freshman of the Year awards after winning 22 games and posting a
1.10 ERA. Both of those numbers led the conference.
Tysinger also led the league with 282 strikeouts - 147 more than
the second-highest total. She allowed opponents to hit just .150
against her this season.
Along with Hefner, the All-SAC First Team infield consisted of
Swygert, Neidigh and Mars Hill third baseman Robyn Stanek. All
three finished in the top five in the conference in batting
average.
Carson-Newman's Bri Shoemake earned first-team accolades at catcher
after finishing the regular season with a .361 average and 28 RBI.
She also threw out 50-percent of potential base stealers.
Making up the first-team outfield were Wingate's Kelsey Maffucci,
Carson-Newman's Kelli Hensley and Anderson's Child. Hensley hit
.386, Child .361 and Maffucci .355, while Hensley was seventh in
stolen bases with 13.
Smith was voted as the first-team designated player, and
Carson-Newman's Elayna Siebert was selected to the team at the
utility position. Siebert led the conference with six triples and
hit .342, while Smith ranked sixth in the league with eight home
runs and 10th in slugging percentage at .582.
Rounding out the All-SAC First Team was Lenoir-Rhyne pitcher
Maryann Hoskins, who was second in the conference in ERA at 1.65
and strikeouts with 135. She won 13 games during the regular season
and also tallied a league-best three saves.
The All-SAC Second Team was also announced on Wednesday, featuring
an infield of Catawba catcher Tara Gibbs, first basemen Jesssica
Fellmeth of Lenoir-Rhyne and Kaytlin Stroinski of Tusculum, Wingate
second baseman Hayley Whitley, TC shortstop Lindsey Umberger, and
L-R third baseman Haily Jarman. Fellmeth and Stroinski tied in the
voting for second-team first baseman.
Tusculum's Miranda Beeler, LMU's Brianna Mulkey and Newberry's
Gabby Bedard made up the second-team outfield, while Wingate's
Kayla Saliga was the team's designated player and Brevard's Alyssa
Miller was its utility player.
The All-Conference Second Team was completed by pitchers Taylor
Morris of Mars Hill and Stacey Houser of Wingate.
Finally, Tusculum's Julie Huebner was selected as the SAC Coach of
the Year after leading her team to the program's first-ever
regular-season conference title. The Pioneers went 13-5 in league
play and 30-17 overall in the regular season. She is the first
coach in TC softball history to earn the conference's Coach of the
Year award.
2013 SAC Softball Awards
SAC Player of the Year: Brittany Hefner, Carson-Newman
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Carley Tysinger, Catawba
SAC Freshman of the Year: Carley Tysinger, Catawba
SAC Coach of the Year: Julie Huebner, Tusculum
All-Conference First Team
C - Bri Shoemake, C-N %$
1B - Danielle Swygert, AU
2B - Jessica Neidigh, AU ^
SS - Brittany Hefner, C-N
3B - Robyn Stanek, MHC
OF - Kelsey Maffucci, WU
OF - Kelli Hensley, C-N
OF - Molly Child, AU
DP - Bailey Smith, AU
Util - Elayna Siebert, C-N
P - Carley Tysinger, CAT
P - Maryann Hoskins, L-R
All-Conference Second Team
C - Tara Gibbs, CAT
1B - Jessica Fellmeth, L-R *^%
1B - Kaytlin Stroinski, TC *
2B - Hayley Whitley, WU
SS - Lindsey Umberger, TC
3B - Haily Jarman, L-R #&
OF - Miranda Beeler, TC
OF - Brianna Mulkey, LMU ^&
OF - Gabby Bedard, NEW
DP - Kayla Saliga, WU
Util - Alyssa Miller, BC
P - Taylor Morris, MHC
P - Stacey Houser, WU
* tied for second-team 1B selection
^ 2012 All-SAC First Team Selection
# 2012 All-SAC Second Team Selection
% 2011 All-SAC First Team Selection
& 2011 All-SAC Second Team Selection
$ 2010 All-SAC Second Team Selection
