|
SEC Announces 2010
Softball Awards
BIRMINGHAM,
Ala. --
The Southeastern Conference announced its annual softball awards to cap
off the 2010 season and kick off the SEC Softball Tournament in
Fayetteville, Ark., May 13-15. The All-SEC Teams consist of
24
total student-athletes, along with a 12-member All-Freshman team and a
nine-member All-Defensive Team, however, no ties were broken.
For
the second consecutive season, Alabama’s Charlotte Morgan was
named Player of the Year. The Crimson Tide’s Kelsi Dunne
earned
Pitcher of the Year honors, while head coach Pat Murphy was named Coach
of the Year. There was a three-way tie for Freshman of the
Year
honors as Alabama’s Kayla Braud, LSU’s Rachele Fico
and
Tennessee’s Kat Dotson were all selected. Arkansas’
Jessica
Bachkora was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The awards
were
voted on by the league’s coaches.
Morgan
becomes only the second player in SEC history to receive this honor
twice in her career. The only other player to achieve this
accomplishment was Mississippi State’s Iyhia McMichael, who
also
won it back-to-back years in 2003 and 2004. The Moreno
Valley,
Calif. native led the league in slugging percentage, RBI and home runs,
and ranked second in walks and third in on-base percentage.
She
also batted .536 with runners in scoring position and .476 with runners
on base. Defensively, she only made one error all season at
first
base.
This
marks the first honor for Dunne, who led the SEC in wins (13),
strikeouts (144) and opposing batting average (.174) and lost only once
in conference play this season. It is the second Pitcher of
the
Year honor for Alabama. The Port Orange, Fla. native struck
out
10 or more in seven league
games.
Murphy
received Coach of they Year honors by guiding the Crimson Tide to their
second SEC title and posting a 23-4 record in the league.
This is
the second honor for Murphy. He earned co-honors in
2006.
Alabama is also the first school to earn Player, Pitcher, Coach and
Freshman of the Year honors in a single season. The Crimson
Tide
boast the No. 1 RPI ranking according to the NCAA.
Another
first this season is the three-way tie for Freshman of the
Year.
Alabama’s Braud and Tennessee’s Dotson were named
First
Team All-SEC while LSU’s Fico was name Second Team.
Braud
led all freshmen in batting average, on-base percentage, runs, hits,
doubles and triples. She is the first member of Alabama to hit .500 or
better in league play. Fico led the league in ERA (1.41) and
saves (3), while her opponent batting average ranks fourth.
She
posted a 9-3 record in SEC action and is tied for second for fewest
runs allowed over 74.1 innings. Dotson started all 22 SEC
contests for Tennessee and reached safely by hit or walk in 18 of those
games. Her .413 batting average led the Lady Vols and ranks
fourth in the league.
Arkansas’
Bachkora earned scholar-athlete honors by posting a 3.945 GPA in
Kinesiology - Biomechanics. The senior also has a minor in
business. The Overland Park, Kan. native ranks first all-time
in
Arkansas batting average, runs scored, doubles, total bases and on-base
percentage and ranks second in hits and slugging percentage.
Bachkora is also a two-time member of the SEC Spring Academic Honor
Roll and the ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District first
team.
|
