Bears Send Four To All-SoCon Teams

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The postseason accolades began to roll in for the Mercer softball team on Tuesday afternoon when infielders Tori Hedgecock and Emma Dorval, outfielder Alyssa Woods and right-hander Grace Taylor all earned spots on the 2024 All-Southern Conference teams, the league office announced.

The Bears were one of just three league squads to grab four or more spots on the two all-conference squads. Regular season champion Chattanooga led the charge with seven selections, while Samford picked up five all-conference laurels.

The announcement marked the ninth-straight season that the Orange & Black has been represented by multiple student-athletes on the all-conference squads. The four selections on Tuesday marked the most for the program since the 2021 campaign.

Dorval, a product of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, will tote a career-best .338 batting average into Wednesday's SoCon Tournament opener, while complementing that number with five extra-base hits (1 HR), 19 RBI and 15 runs scored. Dorval boasts 11 multiple-hit and a quartet of multiple-RBI contests this season already, including a perfect 3-for-3 tally with a homer and three RBI in MU's series finale at Western Carolina.

A native of Valdosta, Hedgecock led the SoCon in six offensive statistical categories during the regular season, including pacing the league in home runs (19), RBI (53) and walks (47). The everyday third baseman for the Bears has compiled a career-best .321 batting average through 50 games, fueled by nine multiple-hit outings, while also amassing impressive .417 on-base and .583 slugging percentages. She ranks eighth among NCAA Division I leaders in both total home runs and home runs per game (0.38), while also boasting the nation's fourth-best walks per game (0.94).

Taylor, the 2024 SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year designee, has tacked up a career-best 10 wins this season in a team-best 124-1/3 innings pitches, while also amassing career-bests in both earned run average (3.38) and strikeouts (61). The Debary, Fla., product has logged six wins and a 2.80 ERA against league foes in 2024, including a pair of victories in Mercer's weekend sweep of Furman earlier this year. She also grabbed a win in relief in the rubber game of MU's series victory at Chattanooga.

A product of Houston, Texas, Woods has been the fire-starter for Mercer's offensive attack this season, compiling a career-best .339 batting average with seven extra-base hits, 12 RBI and a team-best 44 runs scored. A menace on the base paths, Woods has logged three tiples and a dozen stolen bases so far in 2024, while also showing an impressive .415 on-base percentage as well. The everyday starter for the Bears in centerfield has 19 multiple-hit contests to her credit this season, and has crossed the plate two or more times in 13 outings.

The fourth-seeded Bears (22-28) will open up their portion of SoCon Tournament play on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. when they take on the winner of Wednesday's morning's contest between fifth-seeded Wofford and eighth-seeded East Tennessee State. The 4-day 2024 SoCon Tournament is being played at the UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

Players Mentioned

Emma Dorval

Tori Hedgecock

Grace Taylor

Alyssa Woods

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