University of Georgia Athletics
Four Bulldogs Earn All-SEC Softball Honors
May 12, 2010 | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala - Four University of Georgia junior softball players were honored by the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday when the league announced its 2010 awards. Megan Wiggins, Taylor Schlopy and Alisa Goler were named All-SEC First Team selections while Wiggins and Brianna Hesson were chosen to the All-Defensive team.
Georgia's three selections to the first team matched three from Florida and Alabama as the most from any school. It marked the first time that three Bulldogs earned All-SEC First Team honors since 2005 (Michelle Green, Megan McAllister and Kim Wendland). It's also just the third time in school history Georgia has placed three on the first team
Wiggins was named the All-Defensive team left fielder and Hesson was named the team's first baseman. The pair becomes the second and third UGA players to be recognized on the All-Defensive team joining Kristin Schnake, who was the 2009 All-Defensive Team shortstop.
Wiggins, a native of Snellville, Ga., earns her second career All-SEC First Team honor after previously doing so as a freshman in 2008. On the year, she is batting .380 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI and 47 runs scored. Wiggins was named SEC Player of the Week on April 19 after helping UGA to sweeps over Mississippi State and Auburn by batting .500 with six RBI. In SEC play, Wiggins tied for the league lead with nine home runs while leading the conference with 66 total bases. Wiggins also ranked third in slugging percentage (.733), fourth in RBI (25), tied fifth in hits (33), sixth in runs scored (24) and tied ninth in double (6). Defensively, Wiggins set single-season and career UGA outfield assists records with 10 this year and 14 for her career. Six of her 10 assists this season came in league action. Wiggins enters postseason play riding a career-best 14 game hitting, and she had reached base safely in 24-straight contests.
Schlopy, a native of West Hills, Calif., earns All-SEC First Team recognition for the second-straight season. On the year, she leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.458), runs scored (66), triples (5), slugging percentage (.768) and stolen bases (28) while also hitting nine home runs and providing 29 RBI. Schlopy was named the SEC Player of the Week on April 12 following a week where she helped Georgia go 5-0 by batting .667 (10-for-15) with eight runs scored. Overall in the SEC play, Schlopy ranked tied third in triples (2), fourth in runs scored (28), sixth in batting average (.410), tied sixth in on-base percentage (.531), tied eight in hits (32) and tied 10th in stolen bases (7).
Goler, a native of Frankfort, Ill., also earns All-SEC First Team recognition for the second-straight season. On the year, she is batting .364 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 38 runs scored while also stealing a career-best 10 bases on 10 attempts. Goler also leads the Bulldogs with a single-season school record 49 walks. In SEC play, Goler ranked tied fourth in home runs (7), fifth in slugging percentage (.716), fifth in on-base percentage (.532) and fifth in walks (24). She also ranked among the league leaders in assists with 51 and double plays turned with five.
Hesson, a native of Sugar Hill, Ga., is fielding at a .988 clip on the year with 311 putouts and 17 assists. In SEC play, Hesson fielded a perfect 1.000 with the second most chances in the league (194) and the most putouts (183). In the UGA career-record books, Hesson ranks fifth in fielding percentage at .988 and fourth in assists with 931.
Georgia (43-10) begins postseason play at the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., May 13-15. The single-elimination conference tournament will be hosted the University of Arkansas at Bogle Park with all games being televised nationally by the ESPN family of networks. The first two rounds of the tournament will air on ESPNU and the championship game will air on ESPN. In the opening round on Thursday, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs will square off against the fifth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols (41-12) at 5 p.m. ET. Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza will provide commentary for ESPNU, and live audio will be available on www.georgiadogs.com with Kevin Copp calling the action. Live stats for all tournament games will be available through www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com and www.secsports.com.
Fans can purchase tickets for the SEC Tournament by calling the Arkansas Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-HOGS or by logging onto www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com. All-session general admission tickets are $15 adult/$8 youth while single-session tickets will be available beginning May 13 at $8 adult/$4 youth. Single-game group ticket packages for groups of 12 or more are also available. The ticket booth will open one hour prior to the first game of each day.
2010 SEC SOFTBALL AWARDS:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala - Four University of Georgia junior softball players were honored by the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday when the league announced its 2010 awards. Megan Wiggins, Taylor Schlopy and Alisa Goler were named All-SEC First Team selections while Wiggins and Brianna Hesson were chosen to the All-Defensive team.
Georgia's three selections to the first team matched three from Florida and Alabama as the most from any school. It marked the first time that three Bulldogs earned All-SEC First Team honors since 2005 (Michelle Green, Megan McAllister and Kim Wendland). It's also just the third time in school history Georgia has placed three on the first team
Wiggins was named the All-Defensive team left fielder and Hesson was named the team's first baseman. The pair becomes the second and third UGA players to be recognized on the All-Defensive team joining Kristin Schnake, who was the 2009 All-Defensive Team shortstop.
Wiggins, a native of Snellville, Ga., earns her second career All-SEC First Team honor after previously doing so as a freshman in 2008. On the year, she is batting .380 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI and 47 runs scored. Wiggins was named SEC Player of the Week on April 19 after helping UGA to sweeps over Mississippi State and Auburn by batting .500 with six RBI. In SEC play, Wiggins tied for the league lead with nine home runs while leading the conference with 66 total bases. Wiggins also ranked third in slugging percentage (.733), fourth in RBI (25), tied fifth in hits (33), sixth in runs scored (24) and tied ninth in double (6). Defensively, Wiggins set single-season and career UGA outfield assists records with 10 this year and 14 for her career. Six of her 10 assists this season came in league action. Wiggins enters postseason play riding a career-best 14 game hitting, and she had reached base safely in 24-straight contests.
Schlopy, a native of West Hills, Calif., earns All-SEC First Team recognition for the second-straight season. On the year, she leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.458), runs scored (66), triples (5), slugging percentage (.768) and stolen bases (28) while also hitting nine home runs and providing 29 RBI. Schlopy was named the SEC Player of the Week on April 12 following a week where she helped Georgia go 5-0 by batting .667 (10-for-15) with eight runs scored. Overall in the SEC play, Schlopy ranked tied third in triples (2), fourth in runs scored (28), sixth in batting average (.410), tied sixth in on-base percentage (.531), tied eight in hits (32) and tied 10th in stolen bases (7).
Goler, a native of Frankfort, Ill., also earns All-SEC First Team recognition for the second-straight season. On the year, she is batting .364 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 38 runs scored while also stealing a career-best 10 bases on 10 attempts. Goler also leads the Bulldogs with a single-season school record 49 walks. In SEC play, Goler ranked tied fourth in home runs (7), fifth in slugging percentage (.716), fifth in on-base percentage (.532) and fifth in walks (24). She also ranked among the league leaders in assists with 51 and double plays turned with five.
Hesson, a native of Sugar Hill, Ga., is fielding at a .988 clip on the year with 311 putouts and 17 assists. In SEC play, Hesson fielded a perfect 1.000 with the second most chances in the league (194) and the most putouts (183). In the UGA career-record books, Hesson ranks fifth in fielding percentage at .988 and fourth in assists with 931.
Georgia (43-10) begins postseason play at the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., May 13-15. The single-elimination conference tournament will be hosted the University of Arkansas at Bogle Park with all games being televised nationally by the ESPN family of networks. The first two rounds of the tournament will air on ESPNU and the championship game will air on ESPN. In the opening round on Thursday, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs will square off against the fifth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols (41-12) at 5 p.m. ET. Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza will provide commentary for ESPNU, and live audio will be available on www.georgiadogs.com with Kevin Copp calling the action. Live stats for all tournament games will be available through www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com and www.secsports.com.
Fans can purchase tickets for the SEC Tournament by calling the Arkansas Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-HOGS or by logging onto www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com. All-session general admission tickets are $15 adult/$8 youth while single-session tickets will be available beginning May 13 at $8 adult/$4 youth. Single-game group ticket packages for groups of 12 or more are also available. The ticket booth will open one hour prior to the first game of each day.
2010 SEC SOFTBALL AWARDS:
Player of the Year: Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Pitcher of the Year: Kelsi Dunne, Alabama
Coach of the Year: Patrick Murphy, Alabama
Co-Freshmen of the Year: Kayla Braud, Alabama; Rachele Fico, LSU; Kat Dotson, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jessica Bachkora, Arkansas
First Team All-SEC:
P - Kelsi Dunne, Alabama
P - Stephanie Brombacher, Florida
IF - Kayla Braud, Alabama
IF - Megan Bush, Florida
IF - Alisa Goler, Georgia
IF - Molly Johnson, Kentucky
OF - Francesca Enea, Florida
OF - Taylor Schlopy, Georgia
OF - Megan Wiggins, Georgia
OF - Kirsten Shortridge, LSU
OF - Kat Dotson, Tennessee
C - Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
DP/U - Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Second Team All-SEC:
P - Rachele Fico, LSU
P - Ivy Renfroe, Tennessee
IF - Whitney Larsen, Alabama
IF - Kyndall White, Auburn
IF - Aja Paculba, Florida
IF - Lauren Grill, Ole Miss
OF - Jessica Bachkora, Arkansas
OF - Michelle Moultrie, Florida
OF - Rachel Mitchell, LSU
OF - Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
C - Megan Yocke, Kentucky
DP/U - Miranda Dixon, Arkansas
Freshman All-SEC Team:
P - Rachele Fico, LSU
P - Ivy Renfroe, Tennessee
IF - Kayla Braud, Alabama
IF - Courtney Breault, Arkansas
IF - Brittany Walker, Florida
IF - Lauren Gibson, Tennessee
OF - Keima Davis, Alabama
OF - Jessica Cooley, Mississippi State
OF - Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
OF - Kat Dotson, Tennessee
C - Brittany Schutte, Florida
DP/U - Kelsey Horton, Florida
SEC All-Defensive Team:
P - Kelsi Dunne, Alabama; Rachele Fico, LSU
C - Megan Yocke, Kentucky
1B - Brianna Hesson, Georgia
2B - Aja Paculba, Florida
SS - Molly Johnson, Kentucky
3B - Jessica Mouse, LSU; Sandra Smith, AR
LF - Megan Wiggins, Georgia
CF - Kirsten Shortridge, LSU
RF - Rachel Mitchell, LSU; Kat Dotson, Tennessee
