The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2015 Softball Yearly Honors
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Wingate shortstop Alexis Burrell was voted the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Softball Player of the Year, while Carley Tysinger from Catawba was named the Pitcher of the Year. In addition, Anderson's Cailah Niles was voted the League's Freshman of the Year and Carson-Newman mentor Vickee Kazee-Hollifield was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.
Burrell, a senior from Chesapeake, Va., finished the regular season ranked No. 10 in the nation with 15 home runs and is currently No. 17 in Division II with 0.34 home runs per game. She drove in 51 runs on the year to rank 19th in the country, while her 1.14 RBI per game is good for No. 27 in Division II. She turned in a .383 average at the plate during the regular season, to go along with a slugging percentage of .773. Burrell posted 54 hits, six doubles and a pair of triples at the plate in 2015 to post an on-base percentage of .436.
Tysinger, a junior from Lexington, N.C., closed out the 2015 regular season ranked No. 1in the South Atlantic Conference in four pitching categories. She led the League with 253 strikeouts, to go along with 9.6 strikeouts per game to rank No. 1. She topped the Conference with 21 wins during 2015 and posted an earned run average of 1.53 to lead all South Atlantic Conference pitchers. Tysinger ranked No. 2 in the SAC with seven shutouts and allow just a .197 opponent batting average in 191.2 innings pitched.
Niles, a catcher from Phenix City, Ala., is currently ranked top 10 in the nation in four categories at the plate. She belted 17 home runs to rank No. 4 in Division II and turned in 0.37 home runs per game to rank No. 9. Her 60 RBI was good for No. 4 in the country, while here 1.30 RBI per game is No. 8. In the double-header vs. Emmanuel, Niles batted a perfect 1.000 with six hits and nine RBI. She also slugged 2.667 in the two-game span.
Kazee-Hollifield, led her squad to their first South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship since the 2008 season. Her Eagles currently rank No. 14 in Division II with a .345 average at the plate. Carson-Newman pounded out 1.82 doubles per game this season to finish 11th in the country, while the Eagles' 0.91 homers per game was good for No. 30 in Division II. The award is her 11th Coach of the Year plaudit of her career.
Burrell was tabbed the League's first-team shortstop, while Niles garnered first-team catcher plaudits. Sydney Landreth from Lenoir-Rhyne was named the first-team first baseman and Mellena Helms from Wingate earned first-team second base honors. Robyn Staneck of Mars Hill earned first-team honors at third base to round out the list of first-team infielders.
In the outfield, Bri Lockett from Carson-Newman, Gabby Bedard of Newberry and Anderson's Molly Child made up the list of first-team honorees.
Lincoln Memorial's Amanda Snow was voted the first-team designated player, while Elayna Siebert of Carson-Newman picked up the first-team utility nod.
Sarah Howard from Carson-Newman joined Tysinger on the list of first-team pitchers.
2015 South Atlantic Conference Softball All-Conference Agate
1st Team
Catcher: Cailah Niles, Anderson
1st Base: Sydney Landreth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2nd Base: Mellena Helms, Wingate
SS: Alexis Burrell, Wingate
3rd Base: Robyn Stanek, Mars Hill
OF: Bre Lockett, Carson Newman
OF: Gabby Bedard, Newberry
OF: Molly Child, Anderson
DP: Amanda Snow, Lincoln Memorial
UT: Elayna Siebert, Carson Newman
Pitcher: Carley Tysinger, Catawba
Pitcher: Sarah Howard, Carson Newman
2nd Team
Catcher: Taylor Laskey, Wingate
1st Base: Emily Usiak, Wingate
2nd Base: Jessica Neidigh, Anderson
SS: Kaytlin Stroinski, Tusculum
3rd Base: Katherine Shumaker, Catawba
3rd: Ashley Gallman, Coker
3rd: Brooke Ramsey, Carson Newman
OF: Natalie Naturile, Catawba
OF: Morgan Hendrix, Wingate
OF: Aleshia Peek, Mars Hill
DP: Taylor Rosenbalm, Queens
DP: Christina Walker, Lenoir-Rhyne
UT: Chelsea Jones, Anderson
Pitcher: Stacey Houser, Wingate
Pitcher: Lindsay Dean, Carson Newman
Honorable Mention
Catcher: Treslyn Reese, Tusculum
1st Base: Ann Dee Priest, Newberry
2nd Base: Tayler Barcomb, Coker
SS: Gina Gerone, Catawba
OF: Ashlen Ayres, Newberry
OF: Haley Taylor, Carson Newman
OF: Carolyn Williamson, Tusculum
OF: Riley Morris, Coker
UT: Maude McCourry, Newberry
Pitcher: Jamie Hrobak, Brevard
Pitcher: Maryann Hoskins, Lenior Rhyne
Freshman of the Year
Cailah Niles, Anderson
Player of the Year
Alexis Burrell, Wingate
Pitcher of the Year
Carley Tysinger, Catawba
Coach of the Year
Vickee Kazee-Hollifield, Carson-Newman
SAC Statistical Champions
Team Batting Average – Carson-Newman (.345)
Team Slugging Percentage – Carson-Newman (.534)
Team On-Base Percentage – Carson-Newman (.422)
Team Runs Scored Per Game – Carson-Newman (6.93)
Team Home Runs Per Game – Anderson (1.04)
Team Triples Per Game – Carson-Newman (0.40)
Team Doubles Per Game – Carson-Newman (1.82)
Team RBIs Per Game – Anderson (6.21)
Team Stolen Bases Per Game – Newberry (1.00)
Team ERA – Anderson (2.04)
Team Strikeouts Per Game – Catawba (7.91)
Batting Average – Bri Lockett, Carson-Newman (.463)
On-Base Percentage – Bri Lockett, Carson-Newman (.544)
Slugging Percentage – Bri Lockett, Carson-Newman (.853)
Home Runs Per Game – Cailah Niles, Anderson (0.37)
RBIs Per Game – Cailah Niles, Anderson (1.30)
Runs Scored Per Game – Jessica Neidigh, Anderson (1.11)
Triples Per Game – Haley Taylor, Carson-Newman (0.13)
Doubles Per Game – Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne (0.35)
Stolen Bases Per Game – Morgan Hendrix, Wingate (0.45)
ERA – Carley Tysinger, Catawba (1.59)
Strikeouts Per Seven Innings – Carley Tysinger, Catawba (9.60)
Pitching Victories – Carley Tysinger, Catawba (20)