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April 30, 2010
Rio well-represented on All-MSC softball teams
DANVILLE, Ky. - Three members of the University of Rio Grande RedStorm softball team were named to the All Mid-South Conference Team on Thursday night, as the conference handed out its regular season awards at Millennium Park.
The 19-woman team was voted on by the MSC coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Senior centerfielder Leah Hamman (Lexington, OH) and sophomore hurler Anna Smith (Ross, OH) were selected to the first team.
Hamman was in the top five in six categories within the MSC and led the RedStorm in batting average (.384), runs scored (42), hits (61), home runs (9) and RBI's (30). Rio Grande head coach David Pyles, prior to leaving for the tournament, complimented Hamman on her season. "I think all of her hard work is paying off," said David Pyles. "She's having just a sensational senior year. She is one of the first at the field before games, doing extra hitting and all that good stuff."
"Leah's been a hard worker all four years and very deserving, I'm very glad to see her get an award such as this," Pyles added. "Obviously in this conference there are a lot of good players, so you're up against a lot of competition. This certainly speaks to her ability."
Hamman earned MSC Player of the Week honors, April 12. Hamman was honorable mention All-AMC last season.
Smith, despite a 16-14 record, was one of the top pitchers in the league. She posted a 1.94 earned run average and set a new single-season school record with 173 strikeouts. She handled herself well at the plate also, batting .321 with seven home runs and 25 RBI's.
Smith earned MSC Pitcher of the Week three times this season. "Anna is just a few games above .500, but there have been many games where Anna has thrown a tremendous game and our offense just hasn't given her much support," Pyles said. "This is a big honor, because there is some tough pitching in the conference. She was going up against some very tough competition."
Smith earned 1st team All-AMC last season.
Fourteen earned honorable mention all-conference honors, among them, Rio Grande junior shortstop Amber Bowman (Hebron, OH). Bowman was third on the team with a .314 batting average and was second in RBI's with 29.
Thirty three softball student-athletes were recognized as Academic All Mid-South Conference. The distinction is reserved for student-athletes with a sophomore or higher class ranking and a 3.25 and above grade point average.
Those honored for their work in the classroom, from Rio Grande, were Bowman, sophomore righfielder Marissa Lennox (Gahnna, OH), freshman third baseman Jaymie Rector (Heath, OH), who is a sophomore academically, and sophomore Lindsey Stevens (Bellefontaine, OH).
Rio Grande will face an elimination game versus WVU Tech on Friday at 11 a.m. ET at Millennium Park.
