Carson-Newman's Shealy named SAC Softball Player of the Year; Price, Kee, Shoemake receive first team All-SAC honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Carson-Newman junior Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) has been named the 2011 South Atlantic Conference Softball Player of the Year, while senior outfielder Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.), senior shortstop Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore catcher Bri Shoemake (Ooltewah, Tenn.) join Shealy as first team All-SAC selections, league officials announced Tuesday.

Shealy, who was among the league leaders as both a pitcher and a hitter, becomes the first Lady Eagle to win the award since Lisa Rogers was named Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. The hard-throwing right-hander led the SAC with 33 victories as a pitcher, appearing in 49 of C-N's 50 games this season. She was 33-11 with a 2.22 ERA and had 154 strikeouts. She also hit .326 at the plate with 11 home runs, which tied for third in the SAC, and 38 RBI, which was fifth best in the league. Shealy also received first team honors last season.

Price led the conference in batting average (.418), was second in stolen bases (28) and hits (59). She becomes a two-time All-SAC selection as she garnered second team honors in 2009.

Kee batted .360 on the season for the Lady Eagles as she earned All-SAC honors for the third time in her career. She led the team and was fifth in the league in doubles with 13. She also had a team-high 41 RBIs, which ranked third in the conference, and was third on the team in home runs with seven.

Shoemake earns All-SAC honors for a second straight year as she was named to the second team last season. She ranked third in the conference with a .410 batting average, first in hits with and third in runs scored with 42. Shoemake was also second on the team in home runs with nine.

Lenoir-Rhyne's Dawon Millwood, who helped lead the Bears to a conference title, was named Pitcher of the Year. Millwood went 21-4 in the circle for the Bears, and had a 1.37 ERA, second-best in the conference. She allowed opposing batters to hit a league-low .185 against her, and gave up a league-low 4.6 hits per game.

Lenoir-Rhyne coach Shena Hollar, who guided the Bears to their sixth conference championship in the last eight years, and seventh overall, was named Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and the fourth time overall in her career.

Anderson University first baseman Danielle Swygert, who ranked fourth in the conference with a .686 slugging percentage and had nine home runs and 13 doubles, was named Freshman of the Year.

Wingate University pitcher Allison Smith was named the Scholar-Athlete for softball. Smith is a senior majoring in communication, with an emphasis in journalism. She has a 3.8 GPA.

Lenoir-Rhyne led the way with seven All-Conference selections. C-N and Catawba had four each.

Smith has been named SAC Pitcher of the Week eight times during her career and led the conference in strikeouts per game and lowest ERA in 2009. In 2010, she became only the second pitcher in Wingate history to throw a no-hitter. She was a first-team Academic All-District selection in 2010, and was named an All-American Scholar-Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in 2009 and 2010.

Smith has served as a staff writer, copy editor and assistant sports editor for the Weekly Triangle, Wingate's campus newspaper. She also had a 2010 summer internship at the Enquirer-Journal in Monroe, N.C.

She also has been active in UCAN, a community service club with an emphasis on hunger, homelessness, tutoring and mentoring. She has participated in canned food drives, Angel Tree, and Halloween fairs. As a member of the Wingate Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she has helped raise money for Make-A-Wish and the baseball clubhouse fundraising project.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes one student-athlete in each of its 14 sports programs and represents a combination of athletic skill, academic achievement and participation in community service and leadership. The award is selected by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives.

The awards will be presented Wednesday after the third game of the 2011 Food Lion SAC Softball Tournament, which will be played at Carson-Newman College.

The South Atlantic Conference All-Conference teams are selected by the league's head coaches.

Regular season statistical champions and senior awards were also announced.

2011 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
ALL-CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TEAM
First Team
Catcher - Brianna Shoemake, Carson-Newman
Pitcher - Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman
Pitcher - Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
1st Base - Jessica Fellmeth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2nd Base - Carlee Carpenter, Lenoir-Rhyne
Shortstop - Whitney Kee, Carson-Newman
3rd Base - Natalie Haithcox, Mars Hill
Outfield - Leah Price, Carson-Newman
Outfield - Khourtni Hester, Catawba
Outfield - Jody Mizelle, Lenoir-Rhyne
Utility - Kayla Myers, Catawba
Designated Player - Amber Duncan, Anderson

Second Team
Catcher - Brittany Barrineau, Wingate
Pitcher - Emily Huneycutt, Catawba
Pitcher - Allison Smith, Wingate
1st Base - Allison Justice, Catawba
1st Base - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill
2nd Base - Taylor MacDonald, Tusculum
Shortstop - Kat Rivers, Lenoir-Rhyne
3rd Base - Haily Jarman, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - Carly Sabat, Catawba
Outfield - Brandi Haithcock, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - Brianna Mulkey, Lincoln Memorial
Utility - Chelsie Hilbourn, Newberry
Designated Player - Emily Boykin, Brevard

COACH OF THE YEAR – Shena Hollar, Lenoir-Rhyne
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Danielle Swygert, Anderson
PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – Allison Smith, Wingate

STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
Batting Avg. - Leah Price, Carson-Newman, .418
On-Base Pct. - Chelsi Mallory, Brevard, .497
Slugging Pct. - Haily Jarman, Lenoir-Rhyne, .755
HRs Per Game - Jody Mizelle, Lenoir-Rhyne, 0.34
RBIs Per Game - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill, 1.06
Runs Scored Per Game - Jody Mizelle, Lenoir-Rhyne, 1.09
Triples Per Game - Carly Sabat, Catawba, 0.14; Lindsey Umberger, Tusculum, 0.14
Doubles Per Game - Carlee Carpenter, Lenoir-Rhyne, 0.49
SBs Per Game - Brianna Mulkey, LMU, 0.70
ERA - Elizabeth Johnson, Tusculum, 1.17
Strikeouts Per Game - Martika Elmore, Brevard, 8.65
Pitching Victories - Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman, 33
Team Batting Average - Lenoir-Rhyne, .327
Team Slugging Percentage - Lenoir-Rhyne, .553
Runs Scored Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 6.44
Team Home Runs Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 1.31
RBIs Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 5.91
Team On-Base Percentage - Carson-Newman, .409
Stolen Bases Per Game - Carson-Newman, 1.88
Team Earned Run Average - Wingate, 1.91