Flames Claim Four Superlative Awards as the 2022 @ASUNSoftball Postseason Awards are Announced
Flames Claim Four Superlative Awards as the 2022 @ASUNSoftball Postseason Awards are Announced
All-Conference Teams/Awards
ATLANTA, Ga. - Liberty collected four superlative honors as the league announced the 2022 ASUN Conference Softball postseason awards and honors on Monday, voted on by the league's 12 head coaches. For the second consecutive season, the Flames garnered Player of the Year (Caroline Hudson), Defensive Player of the Year (Hudson), Pitcher of the Year (Emily Kirby) and Coach of the Year (Dot Richardson) while the league's Freshman of the Year honor went to a pitcher for the second-straight season in Jacksonville State's Kat Carter.
Hudson makes it two seasons in a row that a Flame earned Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors following Amber Bishop-Riley in 2021. In 24 conference games, Hudson was tied for the league lead among all ASUN batters with ten home runs and 32 RBIs, batting .367 and was second in slugging percentage (.835). Overall, the Paris, Tenn., native finished the regular season tied for second in the ASUN with 50 total RBIs and is third with 16 home runs. Defensively, the Flames catcher led the ASUN and ranked third nationally, throwing out 18 runners, and catching runners at a .409 clip. Hudson leads the team with 18 multi-RBI games and has 18 multi-hit games this season. Hudson recorded a six-game hitting streak to end the regular season and batted .452 with four homers and 11 RBIs in the final 10 games of the regular season. She posted a .994 fielding percentage, making just two errors in 319 total chances while starting every game but one behind the plate, catching 15 shutouts and three no-hitters this season.
Emily Kirby earned her second consecutive Pitcher of the Year honor becoming the league's first two-time recipient of the award. The Liberty left-hander went 10-0 in conference games with an ASUN-best 1.02 ERA during her 12 league appearances, posting a .107 opponents' batting average and 10.12 strikeouts per seven innings. Kirby went 12-5 overall with a 2.06 ERA and led the league with an average of 8.52 strikeouts per seven innings and 3.97 hits allowed per seven innings. She posted four 10-strikeout games in ASUN play, striking out double-digit batters in each of her first four ASUN starts. Kirby posted her first career no-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Bellarmine and fanned nine Duke batters while holding the nation's second-highest scoring offense to just one earned run.
Kat Carter shined in the circle during her inaugural season as the Jacksonville State ace. Carter led the league and ranked 20th nationally with 175.2 innings pitched this season. The Spring Hill, Tenn., native tossed a league-high seven shutouts while collecting 115 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .244 batting average. In league contests, Carter went 8-3 with a 2.86 ERA and a .220 opponents batting average, tallying four shutouts in 16 conference appearances.
Richardson captures her second consecutive unanimous Coach of the Year accolade after leading Liberty to a 23-1 league record and the #1 seed in the ASUN Championship. Richardson led the Flames to nine Power Five wins this season including a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents in then-No. 23 Notre Dame (March 5) and then-No. 9 Duke (April 20), other Power Five wins included Maryland, Ohio State, Virginia (twice), Rutgers (twice) and Louisville. The Flames posted seven series sweeps in conference action and rank 40th in the country averaging 5.75 runs per game.
Player of the Year: Caroline Hudson, Liberty
Pitcher of the Year: Emily Kirby, Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year: Caroline Hudson, Liberty
Freshman of the Year: Kat Carter, Jacksonville State
Unanimous Coach of the Year: Dot Richardson, Liberty
ASUN All-Conference First Team
P - #Emily Kirby, Liberty (Sr. | Greenville, N.C. | Kinesiology)
P - Morgan Clausen, North Florida (Sr. | Arvada, Colo. | Health Science)
C - Caroline Hudson, Liberty (So. | Paris, Tenn. | Psychology)
IF - Mary Kate Brown, Central Arkansas (R-So. | Atkins, Ark. | Family & Consumer Sciences)
IF - #Taylor Cates, Kennesaw State (Sr. | Canton, Ga. | Elementary Education)
IF - Devyn Howard, Liberty (Jr. | Tarpon Springs, Fla. | Nursing)
IF - Emma Broadfoot, North Alabama (So. | Danville, Ala. | Political Science)
OF - Tremere Harris, Central Arkansas (So. | Conway, Ark. | Management)
OF - #Kara Canetto, Liberty (Jr. | Sylvania, Ga. | Public Health)
OF - Shannon Glover, North Florida (Jr. | Oviedo, Fla. | Business Management)
UT - Lou Allan, Liberty (Sr. | Hesperia, Calif. | Criminal Justice)
ASUN All-Conference Second Team
P - #Karlie Keeney, Liberty (So. | Providence, KY | Human Resources & Accounting)
P - Halle Arends, North Florida (Jr. | Phoenix, Ariz. | Marketing & Business Management)
C - Georgia Land, North Alabama (Jr. | Lawrenceburg, Tenn. | Graphic Design & Marketing)
IF - Camryn McLemore, Jacksonville State (Jr. | Saraland, Ala. | Exercise Science)
IF - Paige Bachman, Liberty (Fr. | Fredericksburg, Va. | Sport Management)
IF - Amy Vetula, Lipscomb (Sr. | Canton, Ga. | Nursing)
IF - Harley Stokes, North Alabama (Gr. | Demopolis, Ala. | Applied Exercise Physiology)
OF - Cana Davis, FGCU (So. | Harrisonburg, Va. | Communications)
OF - Rachel Roupe, Liberty (Fr. | Sharpsburg, Md. | Biology)
OF - Mary Claire Wilson, Liberty (So. | Vestavia Hills, Ala. | Exercise Science)
UT - Jaylee Engelkes, Central Arkansas (Jr. | Greenbriar, Ark. | Health Sciences)
ASUN All-Freshmen Team
P - Kat Carter Jacksonville State (Spring Hill, Tenn. | Exercise Science)
IF - Kylie Griffin, Central Arkansas (Greenbriar, Ark. | Communications Sciences & Disorders)
UT - Maggie Pertee, Eastern Kentucky (Uniontown, Ohio | Biology)
OF - Madison Bratek, Jacksonville (St. John's, Fla. | Biology)
P - Sarah Currie, Jacksonville State | Lawrenceville, Ga. | Nursing)
IF - Paige Bachman, Liberty (Fredericksburg, Va. | Sport Management)
IF - Raigan Barrett, Liberty (Puyallup, Wash. | Undecided)
OF - Rachel Roupe, Liberty (Sharpsburg, Md. | Biology)
P - Kate Peters, Lipscomb (Dickson, Tenn. | Exercise Science)
IF - *Hailey Jones, North Alabama (Summertown, Tenn. | Applied Exercise Science)
OF - Haley Fox, Stetson (Ocean Springs, Miss. | Exercise Science)
* - Denotes unanimous selection
# - Denotes a two-time selection to the All-Conference Team
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The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Bellarmine (Louisville), Central Arkansas (Conway), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond), FGCU (Fort Myers), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville), North Alabama (Florence), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.). Austin Peay, based in Clarksville, Tenn., is set to join the league in the 2022-23 academic year.