2018 Sun Conference Softball Awards Announced
CLERMONT, Fla. – The Sun Conference handed out its postseason softball awards Wednesday evening at the annual Softball Awards banquet held at Lilly’s on the Lake in downtown Clermont on the eve of The Sun Conference Championship Tournament.
Regular season Sun Conference Champion Thomas University led the way with five First Team All-Sun Conference picks, including Pitcher of the Year Lauren West. The senior from Bartow, Fla. went 23-4 on the season with a 0.66 ERA, ranking second in the NAIA. West struck out 188 batters on the year, while holding opponents to a .188 batting average against en route to seven Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week Awards. Joining West on the All-Conference team were fellow Night Hawks Kelsey Connolly (Catcher), AJ Weiss (Infielder), Gaby Mora (At-Large), and Kaitlyn Stoltz (At-Large).
Regular season runner up Southeastern had the second most First Team selections including Haleigh Harrell who was named Freshman of the Year. Harrell, an outfielder out of Lakeland, Fla,, hit .422 to go along with 26 stolen bases. Also representing SEU on the All-Conference team were Sam Holcomb (Infielder), Hannah Bodenhorn (Pitcher), and Brandee Pietrzak (At-Large).
Warner earned three All-Conference selections led by Sun Conference Player of the Year Sara Bruno. A sophomore catcher from Auburndale, Fla., Bruno led the Sun Conference in home runs (13), RBI (56) and slugging percentage (.832), while hitting .427. In addition to Bruno, Chantal Crokett (Infielder) and Sylvia Welsh (Pitcher) also earned First-Team All-Conference honors.
USCB (OF Kayla Boyle, At-Large Abby Pac), Keiser (OF Kelsey Brodbeck, IF Avery Miller), Coastal Georgia (DP Breanna Wells, UTL Paige Alt), and Ave Maria (IF Genevieve Twigg, OF Kalie Romig) each had two All-Conference selections as well.
Thomas Head Coach Bill Wilson was named Coach of the Year after leading the Night Hawks to a 35-13 overall regular-season record a 19-5 mark in league play. Wilson’s squad won the regular season conference championship to earn the top seed in the Sun Conference Championship.
St. Thomas infielder Michelle Murch was selected as The Sun Conference Champion of Character Award winner. An outstanding student who holds a GPA of 4.00, Murch is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Sports Administration after graduating in three years. The Sun Conference’s choice for the prestigious Leroy Walker Champions of Character Award in 2017, Murch is the President of SAAC at St. Thomas and is The Sun Conference’s representative for the NAIA Association of Student-Athletes. This Summer, she will represent the United States as a student-athlete representative at the International University Sports Federation Forum to be held in Russia. A tireless worker to improve the overall student-athlete experience in the NAIA, The Sun Conference and at St. Thomas University, she is also very active in the community organizing events such as Doubles for Down Syndrome, and SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Awareness. She has also worked in the community for the Jason Taylor Foundation, the Marlins RBI Program, while helping youth at Glades Middle School.
In addition, 35 student-athletes were named to the All-Academic Team by maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA after at least two full semesters at their current institutions. St. Thomas led the way with seven All-Academic selections.
The Sun Conference Softball Championship Tournament begins Thursday at the Legends Way Ballfields at PFX Athletics in Clermont, Fla., which also will host the NAIA Softball World Series later in May.
2018 Sun Conference Awards
All-Conference First Team
Catcher – Sara Bruno, Warner
Catcher – Kelsey Connolly, Thomas
DP – Breanna Wells, Coastal Georgia
IF – Chantal Crockett, Warner
IF – Sam Holcomb, Southeastern
IF – Avery Miller, Keiser
IF – AJ Weiss, Thomas
IF – Genevieve Twigg, Ave Maria
OF – Haleigh Harrell, Southeastern
OF – Kelsey Brodbeck, Keiser
OF – Kalie Romig, Ave Maria
OF – Kayla Boyle, USCB
Pitcher – Lauren West, Thomas
Pitcher – Hannah Bodenhorn, Southeastern
Pitcher – Sylvia Welsh, Warner
UTL – Paige Alt, Coastal Georgia
At Large – Brandee Pietrzak, Catcher, Southeastern
At Large – Gaby Mora, OF, Thomas
At Large – Kaitlyn Stoltz, IF, Thomas
At Large – Abby Pac, P, USCB
Player of the Year – Sara Bruno, Warner
Pitcher of the Year – Lauren West, Thomas
Freshman of the Year – Haleigh Harrell, Southeastern
Coach of the Year – Bill Wilson, Thomas
Champions of Character – Michelle Murch, St. Thomas
Honorable Mention
Kiah Ferrell, UTL, Southeastern
Victoria Camina, IF, Thomas
Alexa Moore, IF, USCB
Kylie Kellie, IF, USCB
Heather Faulk, OF, Southeastern
Ashley Appell, P, Southeastern
Izzy Ekstam, UTL, Thomas
Rachel Frankhouser, OF, USCB
Taylor Boykin, OF, USCB
Meghan Lindell, DP, Webber International
All-Academic
Deanna Stirtzinger, Ave Maria
Brooke Pierron, Ave Maria
Michella Davis, Ave Maria
Destinee Elmore, Ave Maria
Cassidy Roberts, Webber International
Laura Borders, Webber International
Avery Miller, Keiser
Troiana Test, Keiser
Kelsie Thurman, Keiser
Heather Faulk, Southeastern
Kiah Ferrell, Southeastern
Sam Holcomb, Southeastern
Paige Alt, Coastal Georgia
Morgan Cobb, Coastal Georgia
Katie McGinnis, Coastal Georgia
Kensey Solomon, Coastal Georgia
Brandi Bunker, St. Thomas
Alexis Castroman, St. Thomas
Alysha Coyle, St. Thomas
Michelle Murch, St. Thomas
Dayma Pla, St. Thomas
GiGi Santos, St. Thomas
Emily Santos, St. Thomas
Kelsey Connolly, Thomas
Whitney Cooper, Thomas
Kathryn Lopes, Thomas
Gabriela Mora, Thomas
Alaynah Weiss, Thomas
Taylor Boykin, USCB
Kayla Boyle, USCB
Abby Pac, USCB
Rachel Catt, USCB
Haley Hawkins, USCB
Kaitlyn O'Hearn, USCB
Megan Hammett, Warner
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