WildCats' Steele, Dalton, LC's Allsop Receive Honors

SALEM, Va. --- Junior Lindsay Cross from Randolph College and senior Barbie Miles from Lynchburg College headline the 2009 All-ODAC Softball Teams as the duo were named the ODAC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.  Randolph mentor Jen Steele took home the ODAC Coach of the Year award while fellow WildCat, Teresa Dalton, was selected as the ODAC Rookie of the Year in the annual vote of the league's coaches.  Lynchburg's Brittany Allsop was tabbed as the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete, awarded by a vote of the conference's sports information directors.

Cross led the ODAC in batting with a .491 average (52-for-106) while also topping the league in on-base percentage (.538) and slugging percentage (.764).  Of her 52 hits (second in the ODAC), 18 went for extra bases with 12 doubles, one triple and five homers to go with 35 runs batted in.  Against ODAC competition, she batted a league-best .519 (27-for-52), tying for first in the ODAC with 27 hits.  She hit two of her homers in conference action while also collecting seven doubles.  Cross hit safely in 30 of 34 total games played, registering 17 multi-hit games.

Miles enters the 2009 NCAA Division III Tournament with a 16-5 overall record and a 1.79 earned run average covering 129.0 innings pitched.  She fanned 137 batters while allowing only 122 hits for a .253 opponents' batting average.  Miles took to the circle 10 times against ODAC competition in the regular season, registering an 8-2 record with a 0.91 earned run average.  In 54 innings of work, she struck out 65 batters while giving up only 40 hits and 10 runs, seven earned.

Steele led the WildCats to their best season in school history as Randolph compiled a 19-15 overall record, securing the program's first winning season and most victories in a single campaign (previous high was 12 wins).  Randolph also made its first appearance in the ODAC Tournament since the 2001 campaign, going in as the No. 6 seed following a turnaround that saw Randolph improve from a 0-18 conference record in 2008 to an 8-10 mark in 2009.

Dalton contributed both in the circle and at the dish for Randolph.  From the rubber, Dalton compiled a 14-12 overall record with a 2.76 earned run average.  She threw 177.2 innings, second most in the conference.  In ODAC play, she appeared in all 18 games and registered an 8-8 record with a 2.81 ERA in a conference-high 112.0 innings of work.  With the bat, she batted .377 (20-for-53) against ODAC competition on the way to a .378 overall average (37-for-98).

Allsop starred both on and off the field for the Hornets.  In the classroom, she carries a 3.99 grade point average while majoring in math with a minor in business.  Besides being a past member of the All-ODAC Academic Team, Allsop earned a spot on the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA All-District First Team in 2007, making her eligible for Academic All-American consideration.  On the field, Allsop was seventh in the league in batting with a .377 average (49-for-130).  She led the league in each of two major categories with 48 runs and 24 walks while finishing second with 17 stolen bases.  Against ODAC competition, she batted .404 (19-for-47) with 19 runs scored and a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base opportunities.  She made only one error all season from centerfield.

Listed below are the 2009 All-ODAC Softball Teams.  For more information on ODAC softball, visit any of the participating school's websites, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.

2009 ALL-ODAC SOFTBALL TEAMS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lindsay Cross, Randolph
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Barbie Miles, Lynchburg
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jen Steele, Randolph
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Teresa Dalton, Randolph
ODAC/FARM BUREAU SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Brittany Allsop, Lynchburg

ALL-ODAC FIRST TEAM
Pitcher: Ashley Gills, Bridgewater
Pitcher: Barbie Miles, Lynchburg
Catcher: Caity Butler, Bridgewater
First Base: Lindsay Cross, Randolph
Second Base: Kristy White, Virginia Wesleyan
Shortstop: Taylor Walker, Lynchburg
Third Base: Ami Hutcherson, Guilford
Outfield: Brittany Allsop, Lynchburg
Outfield: Kaitlyn Bowman, Bridgewater
Outfield: Lauren Duguay, Lynchburg
Designated Player: Emily Morris, Bridgewater
Utility/DE: Kelsey Ruitenberg, Roanoke

ALL-ODAC SECOND TEAM
Pitcher: Brittaney Brown, Virginia Wesleyan
Pitcher: Katie Bruce, Lynchburg
Catcher: Felice Lowery, Roanoke
First Base: Tara Campbell, Lynchburg
Second Base: Hillary Rees, Bridgewater
Shortstop: Mallory Sandridge, Bridgewater
Third Base: Paige Smith, Randolph-Macon
Outfield: Audra Della Rosa, Lynchburg
Outfield: Morgan Greene, Randolph-Macon
Outfield: Kimberly Keys, Guilford
Utility/DE: Lisa Lee, Eastern Mennonite

ALL-ODAC HONORABLE MENTION
Lauren Childress, 3B, Bridgewater
Jessica Blosser, OF, Eastern Mennonite
Dana Dettmar, 1B, Emory & Henry
Kelly Hale, 1B, Guilford
Rachel Gallagher, 3B, Lynchburg
Nichole Smith, 3B, Randolph
Laura Bauer, 1B, Randolph-Macon
Jessica Zeman, OF, Roanoke
Melissa Viar, 2B, Sweet Briar
Katie Dunstan, SS, Virginia Wesleyan