Three Lady Royals softball players have been honored by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), being named to the 2011 College Division All-State Teams.
Lisa Lee (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham) and Jessica Sullivan (Midlothian, Va./Mancheter) were each named to the All-State First Team, while freshman Molly Smith (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) was named to the Second Team.
Lisa Lee (top left) and Jessica Sullivan (top right) were each named All-State First Team while Molly Smith was All-State Second Team.
Lee earned First Team honors in the utility position, as she pitched and played third base for the Lady Royals. Lee was named All-ODAC First Team and the ODAC Pitcher of the Year as she finished with program records with 19 wins and 165-2/3 innings pitched. Lee was 19-7 overall with two saves and a 2.24 ERA with 118 strikeouts. She was also named ODAC Pitcher of the Week twice during the season.
From the plate, Lee had a .339 batting average along with an EMU record-tying 42 runs. She also led the team with 18 walks and 15 stolen bases, and was second with seven homeruns.
Sullivan locked down the first base spot on the First Team, as she was also named All-ODAC First Team and ODAC All-Tournament Team. The senior batted .339 with 28 RBIs and hit the first three homeruns of her career. Sullivan also had a stellar .982 fielding percentage this year while breaking the EMU record with 314 putouts. She adds a second record with the career mark for putouts.
Smith completed her rookie season in fine fashion as she picked up a Second Team spot in the outfield. She was also named All-ODAC First Team as well as All-Region Second Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. EMU’s clean-up hitter was a force at the plate, finishing second on the team with a .414 batting average. Smith also clubbed team highs of 40 RBIs, 14 doubles and 55 hits, all of which were close to EMU season records.
The Lady Royals had the second best season in program history in 2011 with a record of 27-13. EMU earned the top seed in the ODAC Tournament with a 14-4 mark in league play, but were eliminated late in the second day of the three-day tourney.
Christopher Newport University third baseman Jessie Atkinson was selected as the 2011 VaSID College Division Player of the Year and Virginia Wesleyan newcomer MacKenzie Creech earned Rookie of the Year honors. CNU mentor Keith Parr earned Coach of the Year laurels after guiding his team to the NCAA runner-up spot in this year’s NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.
Atkinson was a first-team All-American, All-Region and All-USA South selection at third base, while also earning USA South Player of the Year honors. The talented hot corner occupant posted a .430 batting average to go with 17 homers, 61 RBI and 41 walks. She was just as efficient at third base, posting a .964 fielding percentage.
Creech had a stellar season for the Marlins, who were the winners of the 2011 ODAC Tournament much in part to the efforts of Creech. She was named the ODAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player while also picking up ODAC Rookie of the Year and All-ODAC First Team honors. She was a second-team All-Region honoree after finishing the season with 18 wins, a 1.83 ERA and 158 strikeouts.
Parr was named Coach of the Year after leading his Captains to the NCAA Championship Game. CNU was the only unranked team in the eight-team Finals. The Captains finished the season 38-12 and ranked No. 3 in the NFCA national poll. Parr was also the 2011 USA South Coach of the Year.
CNU was well represented on the two All-State squads, posting five players, while Virginia Wesleyan, Eastern Mennonite and Randolph College each earned three players. VWC, EMU, Shenandoah and Roanoke each posted two first-teamers.
2011 VaSID All-State Softball Teams
Player of the Year: Jessie Atkinson, Sr., Christopher Newport University
Rookie of the Year: MacKenzie Creech, Fr., Virginia Wesleyan College
Coach of the Year: Keith Parr, Christopher Newport University
First Team
Catcher: Jaclyn Quinn, Jr., Virginia Wesleyan
1st Base: Jessica Sullivan, Sr., Eastern Mennonite
2nd Base: Jolisa Jones, Sr., Shenandoah
3rd Base: Jessie Atkinson, Sr., Christopher Newport
Shortstop: Hillary Rees, Jr., Bridgewater
Outfield: Leona Rainey, So., Roanoke; Rachel Shumaker, So., Ferrum; Lauren Stevenson, So., Randolph
DP: Lisa Scruggs, Sr., Roanoke
Utility: Lisa Lee, Jr., Eastern Mennonite
Pitcher: Brooke Over, Jr., Shenandoah; MacKenzie Creech, Fr., Virginia Wesleyan
Second Team
Catcher: Emily Atkinson, Jr., Averett
1st Base: Season Dailey, Fr., Virginia Wesleyan
2nd Base: Jennifer Falin, Jr., Christopher Newport
3rd Base: Lauren Childress, Sr., Bridgewater
Shortstop: Hannah Shumaker, So., Ferrum
Outfield: Ashley Mani, Sr., Christopher Newport; Molly Smith, Fr., Eastern Mennonite; Brittany Willingham, So., Randolph
DP: Brooke Hensley, So., Averett
Utility: Kristen Hutchinson, Fr., Randolph
Pitcher: Whitney Haller, So., Christopher Newport; Krista Townsend, So., Christopher Newport