AKRON, OHIO -- The Mid-American Conference announced today at a special ceremony at the MAC Softball Tournament at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio the 2009 All-MAC teams, MAC All-Freshman team and the specialty award winners.

MAC Regular season champions Ball State grabbed four specialty awards with Elizabeth Milian receiving Pitcher of the Year honors along with the Nan Harvey Sportswomen of the Year, Alicia Barkley was named Player of the Year and head coach Craig Nicholson capture Coach of the Year.

Milian has also had her best season yet earning a 20-13 record, the fourth most wins for a pitcher in a single-season at the school.  With a 12-2 record in conference play, she has struck out 85 batters, 189 this season, putting her fourth all-time on the career charts in her three years.  Her 1.88 ERA in conference play has helped Milian post four shutouts and one save in the 97 innings she pitched.  She has limited MAC opponents to a .214 batting average as well, giving up 26 earned runs in 11 complete games. On offense, she also owns a .231 batting average that includes three doubles and five RBI against MAC opponents.

Barkley has started all 50 games for the Cardinals, posting a .446 clip in conference play.  She leads in conference games with 33 hits.  She was second on the team in overall games (to various teammates) in several statistical categories including hits (54), runs (28), doubles (8), RBI (32) and stolen bases (17).  Against MAC opponents, Barkley owns a .527 slugging percentage and .468 on base percentage, while stealing nine of twelve bases.  She also led the team with 11 sacrifice hits, as well as 15 multiple-hit games, which included going 4-for- 5 against Akron on April 24, the most for any Cardinal this season.  She logged nine multiple-RBI games as well, including three three times.  She has even notched eight two-out-RBI.

In only his third season, head coach Craig Nicholson doubled the Cardinals’ conference win record from last season improving from a 9-11 record to 18-3.  It is also more than Ball State has had in the previous two years combined.  He guided Ball State to its first ever regular season MAC Championship in program history, as well as giving the Cardinals a spot in the 2009 MAC Tournament for only the second time since 2002.  In his tenure at the university, he has compiled a 35-28 conference record.

Western Michigan pitcher Meredith Whitney was tabbed Freshman of the Year.  Whitney is only the second WMU player to win with honor.  The Scottsdale, Arizona native leads the team with 14 wins, 175 strike outs and 18 complete games in 23 starts.  Her six shut outs are also best on the team.  Whitney went 9-2 in conference games and was a perfect 6-0 at Fran Ebert Field in Kalamazoo. 

Joining teammates Barkley and Milian on the first team All-MAC are Lisa Rozanski and Amanda Montalto.  East division champions Kent State had two players named to the team in Ashlee Hein and Kylie Reynolds.  Bowling Green, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan each added two in Melissa West and Hayley Wiemer (Bowling Green), Emily Gooding and Bailey Ouellette (Northern Illinois), and Lexi Jager and Whitney (Western Michigan). Lisa McLean, Akron, Sarah Billstrom, Miami, and Alexis Zambrana, Ohio round out the first team.

The second team All-MAC was lead by Miami and Ohio who each have four honorees, for Miami Alexia Javier, Jordan McElroy, Jenna McGivney and Jessica Simpson and for Ohio Melissa Bonner, Deanna Hartsough, Brooke Morgart and Shalene Petrich.  Eastern Michigan added two in Jenny Scherer and Stacie Skodinski.  Rounding out the team are Heather Bauer, Akron, Alyssa Collins, Ball State, Jessica Carmichael, Kent State, Morgan Bittner, Northern Illinois and Brittney Reist, Western Michigan.

Joining Bittner, McElroy, Montalto, Simpson, West, Whitney and Zambrana on the All-Freshman team are Andrea Arney of Akron, Molly Coldren of Central Michigan and Kaylee Tolliver of Eastern Michigan.