Texas Southern claimed two of the four postseason player awards as the Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2017 all-conference softball teams and individual awards.
TSU junior Jasmin Fulmore was named the SWAC's Pitcher of the Year, while third baseman Madilynn Marek was named the league's Freshman of the Year. Fulmore was also named to the All-SWAC First Team, alongside teammates Lauren Rodriguez (pitcher), Kelsey Riley (outfielder), and Chanler Powell (designated player).
The SWAC's two division champions split the individual player awards, as Taylor Hughes and Jessica Crum of Alcorn State were named the league's Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively.
Fulmore, a Federal Way, Wash. native, posted a 9-3 overall record and a sparkling 1.80 ERA for the league's top pitching staff. The junior struck out 76 hitters in 81.2 innings of work.
In SWAC play, Fulmore was 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA and a conference-high 51 strikeouts against league opponents. She also had a stretch where she pitched 29 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run between March 18 and April 8.
Marek immediately provided offensive production for the Lady Tigers in her maiden season, hitting .366 with 30 hits, 20 RBI, eight doubles, two home runs and a team-best .537 slugging percentage and .465 on-base percentage.
Fulmore barely edged out Rodriguez for the Pitcher of the Year honors, and both players were named to the First Team pitching staff. Rodriguez led the SWAC with 84 strikeouts and led all SWAC starting pitchers with a 1.64 ERA. She compiled an overall record of 8-4 and pitched 94 innings, and held opposing batters to a .214 batting average.
Riley ranked in the top ten in the SWAC in batting average (.362, 10th) and on-base percentage (.448, eighth) to earn her selection to the First Team. She committed only one error in 29 games played this season. Riley led the Lady Tigers in bunt singles (nine) in hitting with runners in scoring position, batting .462 in those situations.
Powell ranked fourth on the Lady Tigers in both batting average (.344) and on-base percentage (.433), and led the team with 22 RBIs. She ranked ninth in the SWAC in on-base percentage in league games (.474); Powell also hit .367 and slugged .531 in SWAC play.
In addition to being named the Player of the Year, Alcorn's Hughes was also named the SWAC's Hitter of the Year. Prairie View A&M head coach Vernon Bland was named the Coach of the Year.
To see the complete list of All-SWAC First and Second teams, read the SWAC's all-conference release.
http://www.tsusports.com/index.aspx
Posted By: Cheer Leader
Wednesday, May 10th 2017 at 8:41AM
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