Three Lady Eagles Named All-SAC
April 24, 2009
ROCK HILL, SC - Three Carson-Newman Lady Eagles have been named All-South Atlantic Conference, league officials announced Thursday night.
Junior first baseman Sara Little (Calhoun, Ga.), along with a pair of sophomores, outfielder Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) and third baseman Whitney Kee (Knoxville, Tenn.) all garnered second-team honors.
Little batted .341 for the year, belting 10 home runs and driving in 43 runs, both of which led the team. She started every game this season.
Kee is hitting .311 for the year with four home runs and 14 RBIs. She also has seven doubles and 10 stolen bases. One of her biggest contributions has been the move from the outfield to third base, where she has made only four errors and is fielding at a .959 clip.
Price has been a key in the Lady Eagles' outfield. She is batting .369 for the season with three doubles. The Spring City, Tenn. native is second on the team with 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts.
Carson-Newman put together a 9-7 season in SAC play to finish sixth in the league standings, their lowest finish in the history of the program.
The Lady Eagles have bounced back since the return of pitcher Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.). C-N is 10-3 in since her return, including stuffing third-seeded Mars Hill 5-0 on Thursday in the opening round of the SAC Tournament, avenging a pair of regular-season losses.
Wingate University senior third baseman Hallie Pettigrew, Mars Hill College senior shortstop Ashley Harber and Newberry College junior pitcher Amanda Huckstein claimed the South Atlantic Conference's top softball awards.
Pettigrew (Uniontown, Ohio / Lake HS) and Harber (Goose Creek, SC / Goose Creek HS) shared the Player of the Year award. Pettigrew hit .394 in helping to lead her team to the conference title. She scored 50 runs and was perfect on her 12 stolen base attempts. Pettigrew was also named the SAC Scholar-Athlete for softball..
Harber hit .379 with eight home runs and 33 runs batted in.
Huckstein was named the SAC Pitcher of the Year. This season she went 18-4 with a 1.11 earned run average and led the conference with 161 strikeouts.
Wingate Coach Michelle Caddigan, who guided the Bulldogs to their third conference championship and first since 1999, was named Coach of the Year. She wins the award for the fourth time in his career.
Lenoir-Rhyne University freshman first baseman Sarah Atkins (Newport News, Va./Warwick HS), who ranked fourth in the conference with a .651 slugging percentage and led her team in doubles and home runs, was named Freshman of the Year.
Pettigrew is a senior majoring in mathematics and education and carries a 3.758 GPA.
She is a four-time All-SAC selection and the 2009 co-player of the year and was the 2006 freshman of the year.
She was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team last year and was named to the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete team in 2007.
She serves on the Wingate Academic Advisory Board and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. She serves as a Wingate peer mentor and on the Wingate Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Mars Hill led the way with six All-Conference selections. Lenoir-Rhyne placed five, including three on the first team. Conference champion Wingate had four All-Conference selections, with three of those named first team.
Carson-Newman College had three on the All-Conference team. Newberry and Catawba College each had two.
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.
2009 All-South Atlantic Conference Softball Teams
FIRST TEAM
Catcher - Sarah Atkins, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry
Pitcher - Brittany Blankenship, Wingate
1st Base - Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill
2nd Base - Kat Hammond, Newberry
Shortstop - Ashley Harber, Mars Hill
3rd Base - Hallie Pettigrew, Wingate
Outfield - Jessi Whitesides, Catawba
Outfield - Erin Evans, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - LoRanda McClain, Wingate
Utility - Noel Belk, Lenoir-Rhyne
SECOND TEAM
Catcher - Ryann Baker, Catawba
Pitcher - Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher - Paige Brantley, Mars Hill
1st Base - Sarah Little, Carson-Newman
2nd Base - Rebekah Huff, Mars Hill
Shortstop - Kat Rivers, Lenoir-Rhyne
3rd Base - Whitney Kee, Carson-Newman
Outfield - Leah Price, Carson-Newman
Outfield - Ashley Angell, Mars Hill
Outfield - Anna James, Mars Hill
Utility - Debra Grijalva, Wingate
Statistical Champions
Batting Average - Carly Sabat, Catawba, .430
Slugging Percentage - Kat Hammond, Newberry, .780
On-Base Percentage - Kat Hammond, Newberry, .513
Home Runs Per Game, - Kat Hammond, Newberry, .26
RBIs Per Game - Kat Hammond, Newberry, 1.05
Runs Scored Per Game - Jessie Howard, Carson-Newman, 1.05
Triples Per Game, - Jessie Howard, Carson-Newman, .10 and Julie Broyer, Wingate, .10
Doubles Per Game - Leyila Myers, Wingate, .38
Stolen Bases Per Game - LaRonda McClain, Wingate, .63
Earned Run Average - Allison Smith, Wingate, .880
Strikeouts Per Game - Allison Smith, Wingate, 7.22
Pitching Victories - Amanda Huckestein, Newberry, 18
Team Batting Average - Lenoir-Rhyne, .339
Team Slugging Percentage- Lenoir-Rhyne, .498
Team Home Runs Per Game - Carson-Newman, .73
Team On-Base Percentage - Carson-Newman, .401
Runs Scored Per Game - Carson-Newman, 5.98
RBIs Per Game - Carson-Newman, 5.43
Stolen Bases Per Game - Carson-Newman, 1.78
Team Earned Run Average - Newberry, 1.850
Strikeouts Per Game - Mars Hill, 6.18
