Miller, Stevens, Taylor, and Woody Earn All-Conference Awards
5/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – Four players from the Mercer University softball team were honored with postseason awards on Tuesday for their outstanding regular season performances.
Senior McKenzie Woody received both Academic All-Conference honors and a selection to the Atlantic Sun First Team All-Conference while three freshmen represented Mercer on the A-Sun All-Freshman Team. Taylor Miller, Kirsten Stevens, and Caroline Taylor were selected to the team, Taylor garnering a unanimous selection.
Woody's quick bat and blazing speed have earned her two more awards that will join a long lineup of honors that the centerfielder has earned in her four years for the Bears. This year she hit .374 in 51 games played with 38 runs scored and 22 steals. She has cemented her place atop the Mercer record books in hits, runs, and steals with a shot at breaking the all-time record for batting average.
The Bears got a tremendous boost from their newcomers this season and the awards are just the conference recognizing what's been going on since February.
With a 2.02 ERA in 27 total appearances, Stevens had a shot at All-Conference honors, but gets the All-Freshman nod just as well. She was lights out on the mound this season as she held opposing lefties to a batting average under .200 and issued only 26 walks in 132 innings pitched. She had a four-game stretch in March where she pitched at least four innings a start and allowed no earned runs.
Typically batting toward the end of the order and playing right field, Miller proved herself a solid everyday player for Mercer from the start of the year. Finishing with a .350 average, Miller had 12 steals on the season and scored 28 times. She also led the team in sacrifice hits (5) and was on base a lot with a .375 OBP.
Providing the muscle in the middle of the Bears lineup was Taylor as she blasted 14 home runs and knocked in 46 RBIs. In one game at home against Georgia Southern she had three home runs and seven RBIs. She was no slouch with the glove, either, as she ended the regular season with a .973 fielding percentage.
The presence that Woody brings, both on and off the field, will be missed, but clearly the future of Mercer softball is bright with these three and other key players returning for a few more seasons to come.
