Five Mocs Earn All-SoCon Honors, Sturdivant First Team
5/9/2017 11:02:00 AM | Softball
The Chattanooga Mocs softball team landed five players on the All-SoCon regular season award list including Emma Sturdivant on the first team.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Five Mocs softball student-athletes earned all-conference honors, including Emma Strudivant who was named first team All-Southern Conference, the league announced Tuesday morning.
Sturdivant, a sophomore, earned a spot on the first team at the designated player position. Senior Katy Richardson was named to the second team All-Southern Conference as a utility player while the freshman trio of Amy Lewis, Aly Walker and Hayleigh Weissenbach were all named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team as outfielders.
Sturdivant batted .286 (24-for-84) at the plate this year while registering five doubles and eight RBI. She scored eight runs and slugged at a .345 clip. Sturdivant posted six multi-hit games in 2017 while hitting a blistering .348 against right-handed pitching.
Richardson, a Chattanooga native, finished fourth on the team with a .318 (27-for-85) batting average and accumulated five doubles, a homerun and eight RBI. She slugged .412% and drew ten walks versus only five strikeouts. With five multi-hit games this year, Richardson most recently went 3-for-3 in Friday's 2-1 win over Furman.
Aly Walker led the team and all freshmen in the SoCon with a .329 (47-for-143) batting average. She tied for a team-high with nine doubles and added a pair of homeruns while driving in 21. Walker drew the most walks on the team with 24 and carried a second-best .418 on-base percentage. Walker finished second in the SoCon Freshman of the Year voting.
Hayleigh Weissenbach was second behind Walker in top batting averages for SoCon freshmen as she hit .320 (49-for-153) in 48 games played. Her 49 hits were a team-best and tied for the team-high with nine doubles. Weissenbach scored 25 runs to lead the team in 2017 while carrying a .375 on-base percentage. Her eight outfield assists set a new Chattanooga softball program record.
Amy Lewis batted .253 (19-for-75) in 40 appearances and 25 games started. Lewis recorded a double and four RBI during the season. She scored 12 times and was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.
2017 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams
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Player of the Year
Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr., OF
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Pitcher of the Year
Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
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Freshman of the Year
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
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Coach of the Year
Kyle Jameison, Furman
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All-SoCon First Team
P   –  Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
P   –  Megan Bilgri, Mercer, Jr.
C   –  Abby Sweeney, Samford, Sr.
1B –  Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, R-So.
2B –  Casey Bigham, Furman, Fr.
3B –  Gabrielle Cubbage, UNCG, Jr.
SS –  Brittany Houston, Furman, Jr.
OF –  Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr.
OF –  Meghan Rud, Mercer, Jr.
OF –  Shelby Maze, Samford, Jr.
DP –  Emma Sturdivant, Chattanooga, So.
UT –  Madison Couch, Samford, So.
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All-SoCon Second Team
P   –  Stella Preston, Mercer, Fr.
P   –  Alicia Bazonski, UNCG, Jr.
C   –  Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, So.
1B –  Taylor Carter, ETSU, Sr.
2B –  Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, So.
3B –  Quirisa Mauga, Mercer, Jr.
SS –  Rachael McClaskey, UNCG, Jr.
OF –  Tiffany Laughren, ETSU, So.
OF –  Taylor Miller, Mercer, Sr.
OF –  Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, So.
DP –  Elise Smith, Furman, Sr.
UT –  Katy Richardson, Chattanooga, Sr.
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All-Freshman Team
Nikki Grupp, ETSU, SS
Kylie Toler, ETSU, C
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
Stella Preston, Mercer, P
Whitney Hinton, Samford, 2B/SS
Amy Lewis, Chattanooga, OF
Aly Walker, Chattanooga, OF
Hayleigh Weissenbach, Chattanooga, OF
Erica Hayes, Western Carolina 2B
Ashlyn Long, Western Carolina, SS
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Sturdivant, a sophomore, earned a spot on the first team at the designated player position. Senior Katy Richardson was named to the second team All-Southern Conference as a utility player while the freshman trio of Amy Lewis, Aly Walker and Hayleigh Weissenbach were all named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team as outfielders.
Sturdivant batted .286 (24-for-84) at the plate this year while registering five doubles and eight RBI. She scored eight runs and slugged at a .345 clip. Sturdivant posted six multi-hit games in 2017 while hitting a blistering .348 against right-handed pitching.
Richardson, a Chattanooga native, finished fourth on the team with a .318 (27-for-85) batting average and accumulated five doubles, a homerun and eight RBI. She slugged .412% and drew ten walks versus only five strikeouts. With five multi-hit games this year, Richardson most recently went 3-for-3 in Friday's 2-1 win over Furman.
Aly Walker led the team and all freshmen in the SoCon with a .329 (47-for-143) batting average. She tied for a team-high with nine doubles and added a pair of homeruns while driving in 21. Walker drew the most walks on the team with 24 and carried a second-best .418 on-base percentage. Walker finished second in the SoCon Freshman of the Year voting.
Hayleigh Weissenbach was second behind Walker in top batting averages for SoCon freshmen as she hit .320 (49-for-153) in 48 games played. Her 49 hits were a team-best and tied for the team-high with nine doubles. Weissenbach scored 25 runs to lead the team in 2017 while carrying a .375 on-base percentage. Her eight outfield assists set a new Chattanooga softball program record.
Amy Lewis batted .253 (19-for-75) in 40 appearances and 25 games started. Lewis recorded a double and four RBI during the season. She scored 12 times and was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.
2017 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams
Â
Player of the Year
Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr., OF
Â
Pitcher of the Year
Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
Â
Freshman of the Year
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
Â
Coach of the Year
Kyle Jameison, Furman
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All-SoCon First Team
P   –  Lindsey Bert, Furman, Jr.
P   –  Megan Bilgri, Mercer, Jr.
C   –  Abby Sweeney, Samford, Sr.
1B –  Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, R-So.
2B –  Casey Bigham, Furman, Fr.
3B –  Gabrielle Cubbage, UNCG, Jr.
SS –  Brittany Houston, Furman, Jr.
OF –  Danielle Knoetze, ETSU, Sr.
OF –  Meghan Rud, Mercer, Jr.
OF –  Shelby Maze, Samford, Jr.
DP –  Emma Sturdivant, Chattanooga, So.
UT –  Madison Couch, Samford, So.
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All-SoCon Second Team
P   –  Stella Preston, Mercer, Fr.
P   –  Alicia Bazonski, UNCG, Jr.
C   –  Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, So.
1B –  Taylor Carter, ETSU, Sr.
2B –  Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, So.
3B –  Quirisa Mauga, Mercer, Jr.
SS –  Rachael McClaskey, UNCG, Jr.
OF –  Tiffany Laughren, ETSU, So.
OF –  Taylor Miller, Mercer, Sr.
OF –  Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, So.
DP –  Elise Smith, Furman, Sr.
UT –  Katy Richardson, Chattanooga, Sr.
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All-Freshman Team
Nikki Grupp, ETSU, SS
Kylie Toler, ETSU, C
Casey Bigham, Furman, 2B
Stella Preston, Mercer, P
Whitney Hinton, Samford, 2B/SS
Amy Lewis, Chattanooga, OF
Aly Walker, Chattanooga, OF
Hayleigh Weissenbach, Chattanooga, OF
Erica Hayes, Western Carolina 2B
Ashlyn Long, Western Carolina, SS
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Players Mentioned
2B/OF
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UTL
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
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