All-Region Honors for 18 Players, Higginbotham an Academic All-American
TYLER, Texas --- Guilford College second
baseman Cynthia Hayes and Virginia Wesleyan College centerfield
Tori Higginbotham were tabbed First Team All-Americans by the
National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday evening
in a ceremony prior to the start of the NCAA Division III Softball
National Championship Series. The duo lead a list of 21
softball awards earned by ODAC student-athletes.
In addition to Hayes' and Higginbotham's All-America nods, ODAC
student-athletes picked garnered 18 All-Atlantic Region honors from
the NFCA. Higginbotham tacked on one further major honor as
she earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America Division
III Third Team, presented by the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA).
NFCA All-Americans / NFCA All-Region / CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
Hayes and Higginbotham are 2-of-5 ODAC players to earn first team
all-region accolades. They're joined by Marlins pitcher
Kristina Karagiorgis (21-5, 1.21 ERA, 150.0 IP, 143 K), Lynchburg
College second baseman Melanie Tenney (.406 BA, 35 RBI, .500 OBP,
23 BB), and Randolph-Macon College outfielder Christine Simon (.484
BA, .567 OBP, 11 2B, 24 RBI).
Five more earned second team laurels led by a pair from VWC in
pitcher MacKenzie Creech (16-1, 1.51 ERA, 102.0 IP, 82 K) and
second baseman Kayla Malkos (.378 BA, .457 OBP, 23 RBI), who set
the ODAC single-season record with 52 stolen bases this season.
Eastern Mennonite University outfielder Aslinn Lucas (.407
BA, .510 OBP, 15 RBI), Randolph College first baseman
Hunter Glavé (.444 BA, .516 OBP, .714 SLG, 6 HR, 14 2B,
43 RBI) and R-MC second baseman Sam Moore (.395 BA, .807 SLG, 12
HR, 11 2B, 35 RBI) were also tabbed to the second team.
The NFCA all-region third teams are comprised of at-large
selections, unline the first two teams which were based on field
position (with three at-large spots per team). The ODAC saw
eight standouts selected to the third team, including four from
Lynchburg in outfielder Jessi Hall (.381 BA, 10 RBI, 26 SB),
pitcher/utility Amber Ingram (16-5, 2.95 ERA, 125.2 IP, 99 K/.306
BA, 9 HR, 37 RBI), third baseman Danielle Powell (.384 BA, 6
HR, 48 RBI), and outfielder Nicole Shipp (.320 BA, 11 RBI).
Third baseman Kayla Dost (.366 BA, 41 RBI) and catcher Taylor
Galvin (.340 BA, 12 RBI) added to Virginia Wesleyan's haul, while
utility player Marty Wilcox (.403 BA, .729 SLG, 11 HR, 51 RBI) and
shortstop Sharese Jarvis (.377 BA, 6 HR, 31 RBI) added one more
representative for Guilford and Randolph-Macon, respectively.
Hayes, a senior from Seagrove, N.C., is the first All-American in
Guilford softball history. Short by just two at bats from
leading the country in hitting in 2013 due to injury, she made up
for that lost time by leading the ODAC and ranking in the top-10 in
NCAA Division III with a .532 batting average. She set the
ODAC single-season record for doubles with 23, and will graduate as
the all-time batting average leader in league history at .467.
Hayes' final campaign also featured ODAC-bests in hits (74),
runs scored (63) and on-base percentage (.599). She also
drove in 29 runs.
Higginbotham, a senior from Glen Allen, Va., is just
the second softball player in ODAC history to win three ODAC Player
of the Year honors and the only one to earn three straight.
Higginbotham is now a two-time first team All-American and a
four-time all-region honoree. A winner of three ODAC titles
in her career, the Marlins centerfielder finished the season third
in batting (.472), OBP (.526) and runs batted in (47), second in
hits (68), runs (51), stolen bases (41) and slugging (.736), and
first in triples (4) and total bases (106). She'll graduate
with her named dotted throughout the ODAC record book, including
the all-time career leader in stolen bases (129). She ranks
second in OBP (.526) and hits (245), fifth in batting (.449) and
home runs (31), and sixth in slugging (.733).
In the classroom, Higginbotham maintained a 3.40 grade point
average while majoring in Mathematics with a minor in computer
science. She was a four-time VWC Dean's List honoree and a
multiple member of the All-ODAC Academic Team. She is just
the third VWC softball player and 12th Marlin all-time to earn
Academic All-American status.
For more information, visit the websites of the
participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet
atwww.odaconline.com. Don't forget to
become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow the ODAC on Twitter
at @odacathletics.