HobbsDailyReport.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Sarah Kenley, a senior from Charlotte who is hitting .451 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs for Lenoir-Rhyne University, was named Tuesday as the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Softball Player of the Year.
Kenley and five other LRU players were honored as All-SAC when the league announced the teams. Three LRU players are on the first-team.
Kenley
Kenley, a catcher, ranks first in total bases (124), slugging percentage (.756) and doubles (21) for LRU and is the Bears’ first conference MVP in six seasons.
The Bears’ other first-team picks are sophomore outfielder Erin Boone of Creedmoor and senior first baseman Sydney Landreth of Disputanta, Va.
Second-team all-league picks from LRU are junior third baseman Mackenzie Cates of Efland and freshman pitcher Sydney Miller of East Bend.
Boone leads the league in hitting at .466 and also in hits (83) and runs scored (62). She has six home runs, 48 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Landreth is hitting .405 with four home runs and a team-best 53 RBIs.
Cates’ batting average is .314 and she has hit seven home runs and has 45 RBIs, while Miller has a 13-5 record with an ERA of 2.27 with two saves and 53 strikeouts. She won nine of the 11 SAC games she pitched.
Boone and Landreth have started all 33 of the Bears’ games this season.
LRU (44-9) is ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division II and is the No. 2 seed in the conference championship tournament.
The Bears play No. 7 Tusculum (25-23) in a quarterfinal on Thursday at Byerly Park in Hartsville, S.C. The first pitch is at 12:30 p.m.
The Bears shared the SAC regular season title with Carson-Newman, gaining their 11th regular season crown in school history.
ALL-SAC SOFTBALL
FIRST TEAM
OF – Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Naomi Sapp, Wingate
OF – Allie Jones, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Sydney Landreth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B – Ty-Kella Goins, Lincoln Memorial
SS – Hailey Drawe, Newberry
3B – Casey Stanek, Mars Hill
DP – Haley Simonds, Newberry
UTIL – Mindy North, Coker
C – Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
P – Devon Morrison, Newberry
SECOND TEAM
OF – Christina Linton, Newberry
OF – Sammie West, Tusculum
OF – Elaina Frantellizzi, Queens
1B – Maria Williamson, Coker
2B – Natalie Willis, Newberry
SS – Dakotah Fraley, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Mackenzie Cates, Lenoir-Rhyne
DP – Taylor Wells, Wingate
UTIL – Taylor Martin, Catawba
C – Cailah Niles, Anderson
P – Sydney Miller, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Augie Pena, Anderson
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
COACH OF THE YEAR
Vickee Kazee-Hollifield, Carson-Newman
- Reported by LRU Sports Information