MAC Announces Softball Post Season Honors

CLEVELAND --The Mid-American Conference today announced its 2007 All-MAC first and second-teams as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. Due to a tie in voting for secondbaseman, there was a 16-member All-MAC first and 14-member second teams. The All-Freshman team, and the league’s specialty awards were also announced at the postseason tournament, held at Currie Field in Midland, Mich.

Eastern Michigan’s Lauren Clark was tabbed Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Clark joins Central Michigan’s Pam Stanley (1991-92) and Tina Kinney (1998 and 2000) as two-time MAC Player of the Year honorees. Also recognized from the EMU program was Coach of the Year Karen Baird, who becomes the first Eagles’ mentor to be honored with that award.

Kent State’s Kylie Reynolds copped double honors with both Pitcher of the Year and Freshman on the Year awards. Central Michigan’s Tracy Kaatz took the Nan Harvey Sportsmanship Award.

Clark, a shortstop, batted .336 on the season, but in conference-only games she raised her level of play to a .433 batting average with 29 hits in 67 at bats. She added 10 doubles, a triple and four home runs to post a .791 slugging percentage in MAC competition as the Eagles captured their first ever MAC West Division title.

Baird led the Eagles to a 13-5 conference record, the best in the West Division and just two games behind league champion Kent State (15-3). Baird guided EMU to an oevrall record of 23-20 after a 1-11 start to the season, going 22-9 from March 2 to the end of the regualr season.

Reynolds took her honors with a 14-6 record with an earned run average of 1.27 and 246 strikeouts in 143 innings pitched in all games. In MAC only game, she was 7-1 with a 1.79 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. Reynolds is the second KSU Pitcher of the Year winner, joining Brittney Robinson, who won the award in 2006. She joins previous KSU Freshman of the Year honorees Pauline Maurice (1988) and Jamie Krauss (1998).

Kaatz was recognized for the first ever Nan Harvey Sportsmanship Award. Harvey was a student, coach and administrator at the University at Buffalo for almost 30 years before passing away in 2003 after a three-year battle with cancer.

Kaatz, a sophomore, is in her first season at Central Michigan University after attending Macomb Community College last year. She gave up numerous Division I scholarship offers out of high school because of her family situation. Tracy’s mother, Mary, was diagnosed with terminal cancer while Tracy was in high school. She chose to attend MCC to be at home with her family and her mother during this time of need. Mary died in April last year. Following her death, Tracy transferred to CMU and in her first season with the Chippewas she leads the team with a .358 batting average, a mark that ranks fifth in the MAC. She has 20 stolen bases in 23 attempts and her 0.51 steals per game rank second in the MAC and 39th nationally. She started her Division I career with a hit in each of her first nine games.

Regular season and top-seed Kent State placed a league-high seven members to the All-MAC teams, including five first-teamers. In addition to Reynolds, KSU was represented by first teamers Kim Hamilton (outfield), Brittney Robinson (utility), Jamie Fitzpatrick (first baseman) and Jessica Toocheck (shortstop). Second-team members from the Golden Flashes’ program are Megan Verde (third baseman) and Corey Houk (outfield).

West Division Champion Eastern Michigan had four all-league selections, including first-team members Lauren Clark (shortstop), Jenny Scherer (outfield) and Michelle Lloyd (pitcher). Eagles’ first baseman Ashley Strauss was named to the second-team.

Bowling Green was prominent with five Falcons named to the team. First-team selections from BGSU were Hayley Wiemer (designated player), Jeanine Baca (outfield) and Allison Vallas (firstbase). Second-team Falcons honored were Emily Gouge (pitcher) and Dawnjene DeLong (shortstop).

Ohio had just one first-teamer in second baseman Alicia Catlette. The Bobcats, however, had four second team selections with Shalene Petrich (designated player), Candace Saucedo (utility player), Debbie Szalejko (outfield) and Courtney Waters (outfield).

Central Michigan had two first-team awardees with Amy Hudson (third baseman) and Lindsey Calme (catcher). Rounding out the first-team were Miami first baseman Halle Popson and Northern Illinois’ second baseman Bailey Ouelette.

Additional second team selections were catcher Abby Gross of Ball State, pitcher Meredith Linch of Miami, shortstop Krista McPherson of Northern Illinois, Leslie Stong of Toledo and pitcher Kyla Sullivan from Western Michigan.

EMU’s Scherer, KSU’s Reynolds, Miami’s Linch and Ohio’s Petrich and Saucedo were also selected to the All-Freshman team. Akron’s Lindsay Bodeker (pitcher), Kent State’s Amy Hair (catcher), Miami’s Shalise Lugo (pitcher), Northern Illinois’ Kate Greenough (pitcher) and Toledo’s Katie Ricchio (outfield) rounded out the All-Freshman team selections.