Shiver Repeats As CoSIDA Academic All-America Selection
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – For the second straight year, Mercer University softball senior Natalie Shiver was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
Shiver, who owns a GPA well above the required 3.30 as a double major in sports business and finance, is the first Mercer softball player and third Mercer student-athlete all-time to be recognized with the honor twice in a career. She was joined by UNCG's Nicole Thomas and Western Carolina's Taylor Sigmon as the only Southern Conference players to earn the All-America nod and is also the only student-athlete from the state of Georgia to do so.
The Leesburg, Ga. native started all 58 games at catcher during a stellar senior campaign season in which she batted .325 while leading the team in home runs (7), RBIs (40), slugging percentage (.488) and walks (23). She finished her career at Mercer with the fourth-most games started (218) and was ranked in the top-10 of runs scored (107), doubles (25), home runs (24) and RBIs (112).
Shiver has earned multiple other academic honors in her final season as a Bear, as she was named a SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week (March 29-April 3), a SoCon Graduate Scholar and a CoSIDA Academic All-District Four First Team member. She's a three-time SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week during her four-year career.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic status.
Shiver was a pivotal piece in the Bears' run to a third-place finish in the SoCon Championship at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. on May 11-14. Mercer finished the 2016 season with a 23-35 overall record, a 4-14 mark in SoCon regular-season play and a 2-2 mark in postseason play.
