Rood Tabbed Freshman of the Year, Mercer with Seven All-SoCon

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer was well represented in the Southern Conference postseason awards, highlighted by Mercer's first-ever SoCon Freshman of the Year in Micayla Rood. The Bears placed four student-athletes on the All-Conference squads and three on the SoCon All-Freshman team as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.

Megan Lane, Micayla Rood and Meghan Rud received first team honors, while Stella Preston was named to the second team for the second consecutive season. Allie Jones, Rood and Laurenne Sanchez also received All-Freshman accolades.

The seven All-SoCon honors was second in the league behind UNCG (8) and marks the most Mercer has claimed in a single season since joining the Southern Conference.

Rood was tabbed SoCon Freshman of the Year, First Team All-SoCon and SoCon All-Freshman team after a solid rookie season for the Bears. Rood finished the regular season with the fifth-best batting average in the league (.347) and collecting 34 hits in 98 at bats for the Orange & Black. Rood also tallied 18 runs scored, six RBIs and 38 total bases in 42 games. Rood, who logged 24 of her 36 starts as the designated player, led the Bears in batting average and finished with a .366 on-base percentage. This is the first SoCon Freshman of the Year award for Mercer in program history.

Lane was named an all-conference honoree for the first time in her career, making a splash on the First Team All-SoCon. Lane finished the regular season batting .310 with 45 hits, including nine doubles and nine homers. Lane also finished second on the team in RBIs with 32 and registered a slugging percentage of .559. Lane's average ranked 11^th in the conference, while her slugging percentage was seventh and her on-base percentage (.392) was 10^th. The junior catcher finished fourth in the league in runs scored with 37.

Rud is the final First Team All-SoCon member and this year marks the second consecutive season that the senior outfielder has been placed on the first team. Rud ended the regular season with a .340 batting average, ranking second on the team behind Rood and sixth in the conference. The Georgia native ranks seventh in the league in on-base percentage (.411), ninth in runs scored (32), fourth in hits (53) and first in stolen bases (29). Rud leads the team in at bats (156) and is now first in Mercer history in at bats (727), runs (166) and stolen bases (119).

Preston was tabbed to the Second Team All-SoCon for the second consecutive season after leading the team in wins (11) and ERA (2.43). Preston's ERA ranked fifth in the Southern Conference, while also holding opponents to .209 in batting which also placed fifth in the league. Preston finished second in the conference in saves with three, adding to her program record 12 saves. The sophomore righty posted a career year with wins (11), complete game (7) and fewest hits allowed (77).

Jones has had a strong freshman campaign for the Bears, earning a spot on the All-Freshman team after batting .289 in 41 games played. Jones has accumulated 83 hits, five of which have gone for extra bases. Jones leads all Mercer freshman with 17 runs batted in and has a slugging percentage of .361 and an on-base percentage of .337. Jones is also tied atop the SoCon leaderboard in fielding percentage at a perfect 1.000.

The final conference honor for the Bears is Sanchez on the All-Freshman team. The California native is batting .307 for Mercer, ranking fifth on the team. Sanchez has also scored 34 runs and accumulated 47 hits on the season. The freshman second baseman is second on the squad in doubles (10) and sixth in the league. Sanchez ranks third on the team in putouts (95) and assists (44) and has a fielding percentage of .946 on the campaign.

Mercer opens the 2018 Southern Conference Tournament tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded Western Carolina. The Bears earned the No. 2 seed for the first time in program history after finishing the conference slate with an 11-5 record.

2018 SoCon Softball Awards and All-Conference Teams

Player of the Year
Shelby Maze, Samford, Sr., OF

Pitcher of the Year
Lindsey Bert, Furman, Sr.

Freshman of the Year
Micayla Rood, Mercer, OF

Coach of the Year
Janelle Breneman, UNCG

All-SoCon First Team
P    – Lindsey Bert, Furman, Sr.
P    –   Alicia Bazonski, UNCG, Sr.
C    –   Megan Lane, Mercer, Jr.
1B –   Marisa Sholtes, UNCG, R-Jr.
*2B – Casey Bigham, Furman, So.
*2B – Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, Jr.
3B –   Gabrielle Cubbage, UNCG, Sr.
SS –   Brook Womack, Chattanooga, Sr.
OF –   Meghan Rud, Mercer, Sr.
OF –   Shelby Maze, Samford, Sr.
OF –   Aly Walker, Chattanooga, So.
DP –   Micayla Rood, Mercer, Fr.
UT –   Emily Demonte, Furman, Jr.

*tie

All-SoCon Second Team
P    –   Stella Preston, Mercer, So.
P    – Stephanie Bryden, UNCG, Jr.
C    –   Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, Jr.
1B –   AnnaRose Borrelli, Furman, Sr.
2B –   Ashley Conner, Chattanooga, Sr.
3B –   Hannah Reynolds, Furman, Sr.
SS –   Ashlyn Barnes, Samford, Fr.
OF –   Vanessa Elliott, ETSU, Jr.
OF –   Makenna Matthijs, UNCG, Fr.
OF –   Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, Jr.
DP –   Taylor Wright, ETSU, Jr.
UT –   J.J. Hamill, Chattanooga, Sr.

All-Freshman Team
Julia Fritz, ETSU
Lauren Lee, ETSU
Kelly Warren, ETSU
Allie Jones, Mercer
Micayla Rood, Mercer
Laurenne Sanchez, Mercer
Makenna Matthijs, UNCG
Hannah Stiltner, UNCG
Ashlyn Barnes, Samford
Allison Swinford, Chattanooga

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Rood Tabbed Freshman of the Year, Mercer with Seven All-SoCon

Players Mentioned

Allie Jones

Megan Lane

Stella Preston

Micayla Rood

Meghan Rud

Laurenne Sanchez

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