5.11.2005 C-USA Releases Softball Postseason Awards
Aja Sherman |
For the first time in Conference USA history, the league?s Most Valuable Player award for softball will be shared. Houston senior Kristen Glowacz and Louisville sophomore Courtney Moore each received an equal amount of recognition by league coaches to share MVP honors, while Moore?s teammate Aja Sherman was named Pitcher of the Year and East Carolina?s Tracey Kee was named Coach of the Year. USF pitcher Bree Spence was selected as Freshman of the Year.
Moore and Sherman led the Cardinals to their first regular season title and the top seed at the upcoming Conference USA Tournament in Tampa, Fla., which will be played at the USF Softball Complex on May 12-14. The Cardinal duo was joined by teammates Lacy Wood (catcher) and Audrey Rendon (infielder) on the All-Conference USA first team, giving Louisville the most first-team members with four.
Moore, who plays shortstop for the Cards, enters the tournament with a league-leading .407 batting average and ranks second in slugging percentage with a .767 clip. Her 13 home runs this season is a single-season school record and ranks third in C-USA. Moore also leads the team with 47 RBI.
Sherman set single-season school records with 12 shutouts and 237 strikeouts in the regular season, while posting a 20-9 record. The senior posted 12 of her 20 wins this season in C-USA play and her 1.26 ERA in league action was the third best in the league.
Glowacz, who also earned All-Conference USA first-team honors for the third-straight season, is just one home run shy of tying the C-USA single-season record of 18 set last year by USF?s Holly Groves. The Cougars? third baseman?s 17 home runs are a school record and she enters the tournament as the league?s all-time leader in RBI with 175. Her 50 RBI this season ranks second in the league.
Kee guided the Pirates to a third-place finish in the C-USA regular season standings, which is the best finish in school history. The Pirates? 17 wins in league play is also a single-season record and the team?s 55 victories ranks second in the nation, trailing only No. 13 Tennessee. The Coach of the Year honor is the first for Kee, a former player and assistant coach at ECU.
Spence, who also headlines the All-Freshman team, replaced 2004 Pitcher of the Year Leigh Ann Ellis as the Bulls? top hurler this spring. The right-hander posted a 19-12 record with a 1.90 ERA during her rookie campaign. Spence was third in the league with 209.2 innings pitched and 35 starts.
DePaul, who will be the No. 2 seed in Tampa, had three players earn first-team distinction as outfielder Dana Kenney, utility player Sandy Vojik and pitcher Megan Huitink were each named to the squad. The fifth-seeded Cougars had a pair of players on the first team as outfielder Kim Nesloney joined Glowacz on the squad.
East Carolina and tournament host USF each had one player named to the first team. Pirate first baseman Kate Manuse led the league with 59 RBI this season and improved on her second-team selection from 2004. Bull outfielder Tiffany Stewart rounds out the first team. Stewart led all C-USA hitters with a .449 average in league games.
The Pirates landed three more players on the All-Conference USA second team, while DePaul and USF each had two members. Houston, Louisville, Southern Miss and UAB each had one representative on the second team. East Carolina also led representation on the All-Freshman team with three members. DePaul, Houston and Southern Miss each had two athletes, while UAB and USF each added one.
The championship game of the tournament on May 14 at 2 p.m. (EDT) will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. Don Russell will announce the play-by-play with Cheri Kempf, providing the commentary.
2005 CONFERENCE USA SOFTBALL AWARDS
First-Team All-Conference USA
C: Lacy Wood, Louisville
IF: Kristen Glowacz, Houston
IF: Kate Manuse, East Carolina
IF: Courtney Moore, Louisville
IF: Audrey Rendon, Louisville
OF: Dana Kenney, DePaul
OF: Kim Nesloney, Houston
OF: Tiffany Stewart, USF
P: Megan Huitink, DePaul
P: Aja Sherman, Louisville
UT: Sandy Vojik, DePaul
Second-Team All-Conference USA
C: Krista Jessup, East Carolina
IF: Ashley Davis, Southern Miss
IF: Carmela Liwag, USF
IF: Mandi Nichols, East Carolina
IF: Saskia Roberson, DePaul
OF: Ashley Parker, DePaul
OF: Samantha Ray, USF
OF: Lindsay Stanley, UAB
P: Keli Harrell, East Carolina
P: Catherine Bishop, Louisville
UT: Jenilee Skender, Houston
Conference USA All-Freshmen Team
Amanda Antonovich, LHP, UAB
Paige Baggett, UT, East Carolina
Allison Bullard, OF, Southern Miss
Laurel Carlson, IF, East Carolina
Jennifer Fox, UT, Southern Miss
Barbie Love, RHP, Houston
Angel Shamblin, RHP, Houston
Bree Spence, RHP, USF
Erin St. Ledger, IF, East Carolina
Sandy Vojik, UT, DePaul
Marcy Wilus, IF, DePaul
Freshman of the Year
Bree Spence, USF
Pitcher of the Year
Aja Sherman, Louisville
Co-Most Valuable Players
Kristen Glowacz, Houston
Courtney Moore, Louisville
Coach of the Year
Tracey Kee, East Carolina