Golden Eagles Place Two on All-Conference USA Softball Team
5/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 11, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Conference USA announced its 2010 All-Conference first, second and all-freshman teams, along with individual postseason award winners for softball Tuesday, as selected by the league's head coaches.
Southern Miss had two players earn all-conference honors. Megan Hill earned Second Team All-Conference, becoming the first Golden Eagle to be named All-Conference USA all four years. She ranks first in the league with 54 walks, second in slugging percentage (.677) and on-base percentage (.522), fifth in home runs (11), seventh in runs scored (38) and triples (3) and tenth in runs batted in (34).
Gabby Luciani was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Southern Miss has now had someone name All-Freshman eight out of the last 10 years. Luciani is seventh in the conference in innings pitched (162.0), eighth in earned run average (2.25), ninth in strikeouts (154) and appearances (30) and tenth in opposing batting average (.223).
Tulsa's Lauren Lindsay was named the Player of the Year, while Toni Paisley of East Carolina earned the Pitcher of the Year honor. UAB's Lauren Webster was named Freshman of the Year and teammate Alisha Smith claimed the Newcomer of the Year. East Carolina head coach Tracey Kee was named Coach of the Year for the second-straight season and now has three for her career.
Lindsay earned C-USA Player of the Year and All-Conference USA first-team recognition after having a strong year both offensively and defensively. The senior outfielder led the league in multiple categories including batting average (.384), home runs (18), slugging percentage (.828), runs scored (48) and total bases (125). The three-time, first-team selection also drove in 48 RBI for the Golden Hurricane.
For the second-consecutive season, ECU's Paisley was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. The redshirt junior was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2007 and owns a 27-9 record on the season with a 1.05 ERA. She leads the nation in shutouts with 19 and is holding her opponents to a.150 batting average. The Lakewood, Calif., native has fanned 320 batters on the year, 88 of which caught looking. Paisley is the second pitcher in East Carolina history to pass the 300-strikeout plateau.
UAB's Webster was named the Freshman of the Year, while Smith was honored with the Newcomer of the Year accolade. Webster owns a 17-5 record in the circle for the Blazers and is holding opponents to a 1.96 batting average. In 31 appearances and 165.2 innings of work, the freshman has struck out 163 batters and boasts a 1.81 ERA. Smith has won 13 games and saved two for UAB this season. The Jefferson State transfer has a 2.03 ERA and is holding batters to a .254 batting average. Combined, the duo is 30-16 in the circle for the Blazers.
Kee led the Pirates to their first regular season title and was named the 2010 Coach of the Year. Kee's Pirates will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with a 39-16 overall record and a 16-5 mark in league games.
All nine schools had student-athletes honored on the All-Conference teams with UAB and UCF leading the way with five selections apiece. Tulsa featured four athletes while conference champion East Carolina had three.
The 2010 C-USA Softball Championship gets underway on Thursday with five games at the Cougar Softball Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. CDT. Semifinal action will begin at 3 p.m. CDT on Friday with the C-USA Softball Championship game to be played on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CDT LIVE on CBS College Sports.
For live streaming links and complete tournament information, please visit the league's official Web site at www.ConferenceUSA.com .
First Team
C - Mandy Lowman, UAB
IF - Camilla Carrera, UTEP
IF - Kayla Orr, UAB
IF - Natalie Land, UCF
IF - Tiffany Lane, UCF
IF - Vanessa Vice, Tulsa
OF - Marina Gusman-Brown, East Carolina
OF - Martina Landrum, UAB
OF - Lauren Lindsay, Tulsa
U - Stacie Townsend, UTEP
P - Ashleigh Cole, UCF
P - Toni Paisley, East Carolina
Second Team
C - Abby McClain, UCF
IF - Hillary Barrow, UCF
IF - Samantha Cobb, Tulsa
IF - Charina Sumner, East Carolina
IF - Jazmine Valle, Marshall
OF - Lelani Bernardino, Memphis
OF - Caitlin Everett, Tulsa
OF - Megan Hill, Southern Miss
U - Reina Gaber, Houston
U - Vanessa Walle, Memphis
P - Alisha Smith, UAB
P - Lauren Webster, UAB
All-Freshman Team
Kate Armstrong, UAB
Samantha Cobb, Tulsa
Caitlin Everett, Tulsa
Reina Gaber, Houston
Carly Hummel, Memphis
Ashleigh Jones, Houston
Gabby Luciani, Southern Miss
Marissa Menendez, UCF
Jazmine Valle, Marshall Bailey Watts, Houston
Lauren Webster, UAB