2023 @ASUNSoftball Season in Review
2023 @ASUNSoftball Season in Review
Record Book
ATLANTA - With the 38th season of ASUN Conference Softball in the books, we take a look back at all of the highlights and accomplishments of the 14 league squads during the 2023 season. Central Arkansas nearly completed a perfect conference season with a 22-2 record, falling to Liberty and North Alabama in the regular season before earning back-to-back wins in the conference championship title series to claim their first ASUN banner.
The Bears earned a trip to the Tuscaloosa, Ala., Regional of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship where they were defeated by Middle Tennessee in the first game before turning out a 15-0 win over LIU. UCA faced MTSU again in an elimination game where they fell to the Blue Raiders. Central Arkansas' 45-win season was fueled by Unanimous ASUN Coach of the Year Jenny Parsons, Defensive Player of the Year Madi Young, Pitcher of the Year Jordan Johnson and Tournament MVP Kayla Beaver. During the regular season, the Bears picked up Power Five victories over Utah, Kansas and nationally-ranked Arkansas (twice).
Liberty also had its season extended to give the ASUN multiple bids in the NCAA Softball Championship for the second time in the last three years. Liberty (AQ) and Kennesaw State (at-large) both qualified in 2021. The Flames took a trip to the Los Angeles, Calif., Regional of the NCAA Championship where they fell to San Diego State in the first round. Liberty faced No. 2 UCLA in an elimination game that saw the Flames upset the regional host and were also later victorious over Grand Canyon. The Flames had a rematch with San Diego State after advancing to their third Regional Final; Liberty fell to SDSU, 6-3.
Austin Peay Governors (27-24, 12-12 ASUN)
Twitter: @GovsSB
- Lexie Osowski-Anderson (First Team) and Kylie Campbell (Third Team) were named ASUN All-Conference in addition to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors along with Kendyl Weinzapfel, Megan Hodum and Skylar Sheridan
- Jordan Beneifiel led the Govs in the circle as the junior was second in the conference with 188 strikeouts while APSU was second in the conference in shutouts; Benefiel earned a career-high nine during the season
- In Austin Peay's first ASUN Championship appearance, the Govs earned a win over Stetson during the play-in round in extra innings; pinch-runner Charley Pursley was able to beat the throw from Hatters' first baseman to give the Govs their first lead of the game and the eventual 2-1 win
Bellarmine Knights (4-45, 1-23 ASUN)
Twitter: @BUKnightsSB
- The Knights' first win of the season and first for first-year Head Coach Caitlyn de la Haba came against Sacred Heart as Bellarmine scored its most runs in a game in the Division I era with 13; Olivia Bricker, Megan Konermann and Alexis Hargrove (2) all hit home runs
- Bellarmine earned its first conference win of the season against ASUN newcomer Queens in a 3-1 decision that saw Bricker and Chloe Collins lead the Knights during the contest; the pair had one RBI each while Collins added to her stats with a run of her own
- Collins led Bellarmine with a .246 batting average as the sophomore had 44 hits in 134 at-bats; Claire Lehmkuhler led BU in the circle as the Kentucky native more than doubled her strikeouts from last season with 105 in 2023
No. 24 Central Arkansas Bears (45-12, 22-2 ASUN)
Twitter: @UCASoftball
- In its second season in the ASUN, Central Arkansas claimed both the regular-season and postseason titles while putting together six sweeps in eight series and losing only two games during conference play; the success came with the first national ranking in program history and a program-best 16 in the RPI
- Central Arkansas raked in the accolades as the Bears earned Defensive Player of the Year (Madi Young), Pitcher of the Year (Jordan Johnson) and Unanimous Coach of the Year (Jenny Parsons) marking the first superlative honors for the UCA program; nine UCA players were named to all-conference teams while four Bears were added to the 11-person All-Academic Team
- UCA made its first NCAA postseason since 2015 in the Tuscaloosa Region after having clinched the automatic berth; the Bears dropped their first game against Middle Tennessee and avoided elimination in game two - trouncing LIU - before falling to MTSU to close out what was the most successful season in program history
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (28-24, 10-14 ASUN)
Twitter: @EKU_Softball
- The Colonels earned three conference series wins with two of those coming via sweeps (Jacksonville and Bellarmine); they also had a four-game winning streak from Feb. 11 to Feb. 17 defeating Bowling Green, Valparaiso, Creighton and Rhode Island
- Lou Bowers (First Team), Vianna Barron (Third Team) and Maggie Pertee (Third Team) all received ASUN postseason honors to bring EKU's total to 107 postseason awards in program history
- Barron led EKU with a .379 batting average, 64 hits, 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 114 total bases and a .675 slugging percentage; Barron (Feb. 13) earned one of the Colonels' two weekly awards of the season along with Bowers (April 24)
FGCU Eagles (32-26, 13-11 ASUN)
Twitter: @FGCU_Softball
- FGCU won a season-best seven-straight games from March 11 to March 18 as the Eagles became the first ASUN Conference team to record 20-or-more wins this season; the Eagles collected six ASUN series victories and earned the #4 seed in the ASUN Championship
- Four Eagles were named to ASUN All-Conference teams as Meagan Ricks earned First Team honors and Angelina Bonilla was named to Third Team; additionally, Emily Chiarella and Tiffany Meek were named to the All-Freshman Team
- Three Eagles had batting averages over .300 as Chiarella led the offense with a .314 batting average and 19 RBIs off of 156 at-bats; in the circle, Bonilla recorded a career-best 2.36 ERA as the Florida native earned 11 wins on the season
Jacksonville Dolphins (25-27, 11-13 ASUN)
Twitter: @JAX_Softball
- The Dolphins earned four series wins during conference play including two sweeps over Queens and Lipscomb; JAX earned its second 25+ win season since 2018
- Kari Holzrichter was named ASUN First Team All-Conference as the junior batted .294 in the conference and was a consistent hitter in the middle of the JAX lineup; since the beginning of league play, Holzrichter recorded seven RBIs and 27 total bases
- Jacksonville made its first appearance in the ASUN Championships since 2021 and the second in four years; the Dolphins earned the eighth seed in the championship by locking up the last spot with a series win over North Florida after earning their third win with 10-or-more runs
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (31-22, 15-9 ASUN)
Twitter: @JaxStateSB
- Jax State went on a 13-game win streak that included a 9-0 conference start with sweeps over North Alabama, Bellarmine and North Florida; it was the second consecutive year the Gamecocks reached 30-or-more wins
- Freshman Jaliyah Holmes pitched a perfect game against Central Michigan on March 10, marking Jax State's first perfect game since Christine Pierce tossed one against Tennessee State on March 18, 2006; Holmes earned Freshman of the Year honors - the second consecutive year the nod was given to a Jax State rookie
- Six Gamecocks earned All-Conference and All-Academic honors featuring Holmes (Third Team, All-Freshman), Lindsey Richardson (First Team), Emma Jones (Second Team), Lauren Hunt (Third Team), Morgan Nowakowski (All-Freshman) and Holly Stewart (All-Academic)
Kennesaw State Owls (20-32, 11-13 ASUN)
Twitter: @KSUOwlsSB
- The highlight of 2023 for Kennesaw State consisted of a 5-3 win over No. 11 Alabama to mark the second-ever win for an ASUN Softball squad over Alabama; the Owls secured their first win over a Power Five team since defeating the Auburn Tigers in the 2021 NCAA Regional
- Taylor Cates leads the charge for the Owls with a .318 batting average, seven home runs and 32 RBIs, followed by freshman Stella Henry with a .310 batting average, 22 runs and nine RBIs
- Five Kennesaw State Owls were named 2023 ASUN Softball All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Academic, featuring Kenley Hilleary (All-Freshman), Henry (Second Team, All-Freshman), Brinaya Bailey (Third Team), Cates and Laura Bishop (All-Academic)
Liberty Flames (40-22, 20-5 ASUN)
Twitter: @LibertySB
- The Flames set a program record for most top 25 wins (4 - Alabama, Clemson, Central Arkansas and UCLA) and most games against nationally-ranked opponents (16) in a single season; prior to its upset of No. 2 UCLA in the NCAA Regionals, the highest-ranked team Liberty had beaten was No. 6 Michigan (2007, 2020) and Clemson (2023)
- Caroline Hudson marked the third season in a row that a Flame earned Player of the Year honors while Karlie Keeney received ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season; Liberty placed seven players on the ASUN All-Conference team, including three on the first list
- Liberty received an at-large berth into the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history to mark their sixth all-time appearance at the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and third-straight; the Flames defeated regional host No. 2 UCLA and Grand Canyon to advance to a Regional Final for the third time in program history
Lipscomb Bisons (21-29, 9-15 ASUN)
Twitter: @LipscombSB
- Presley Leebrick led the Bisons with a .336 batting average with 20 RBIs and 17 runs while Brinkley Kita was 6-6 in the circle and had a 2.74 ERA; her counterpart Laine Barefoot appeared in 24 games and had two saves
- Kamie Rich led the postseason awards for the Bisons as she was named to the All-Academic and Third Team All-Conference; Maci Cunconan joined Rich with academic honors while Kaylyn Belfield garnered ASUN All-Freshman Team accolades
- Lipscomb Softball placed five on the 2022-23 Academic All-District Team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC), as Jack Busch, Cunconan, Leebrick, Rich, and Emily Yakubowski all earned spots on the All-District Team for their success on the field and in the classroom
North Alabama Lions (34-16-1, 12-11-1 ASUN)
Twitter: @UNAsoftball
- Five Lions (Felicity Frame, Georgia Land, Hailey Jones, Sidney Bevis and Gracie Benton) all had batting averages over .300; Land earned her best season batting average with a .341 and an on-base percentage of .447
- Land and Jones represented the Lions on the ASUN All-Conference group as Land was named Second Team and Jones was a Third-Team selection; Land was also selected to the CSC All-District along with teammate Sidney Bevis
- North Alabama rolled through the ASUN Championship bracket, upsetting nationally-ranked UCA and then defeating #2 Liberty for the Lions' first win over the Flames in the postseason to advance to the championship title game
North Florida Ospreys (29-23-1, 10-13-1 ASUN)
Twitter: @OspreySB
- Three Ospreys (Shannon Glover, Chloe Culp and Kayla Harper) led the offense by batting over .300 while Culp and Glover both racked up over 30 RBIs; in the circle, Ashley Connor and Izzy Kelly both had ERAs below 3.00 and recorded more than 10 wins
- Glover and Harper represented North Florida as ASUN Second Team All-Conference selections; this is the second consecutive season that Glover has been selected to an ASUN postseason team
- Glover and Kelly were honored by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) as members of the Academic All-District Team; the duo become the third and fourth selections by the CSC in program history and the second and third selections over the past two seasons
Queens Royals (20-26, 10-14 ASUN)
Twitter: @RoyalsSball
- In their first game as a Division I program, Queens earned a 5-4 victory against Appalachian State; the Royals earned their first conference win and series triumph against Stetson in a 2-1 victory
- Freshman Autumn Courtney earned back-to-back Pitcher of the Week honors after earning 20-plus strikeouts in consecutive weeks; Courtney was also named to the All-Freshman Team and All-Conference Second Team
- Kella Goins was named Head Coach after being entrusted with the program as the interim in mid-March after the departure of Stacey Schramm; Goins went 12-17 after taking over the program
Stetson Hatters (28-28, 12-12 ASUN)
Twitter: @StetsonSoftball
- Stetson went 12-12 in the ASUN and needed just about every one of those wins to clinch a championship berth; included were nine one-run wins, four come-from-behind victories, three extra-inning wins and two walk-offs where Stetson won despite being down to its final strike
- The Hatters had two major upsets against top 25 teams this season, with a 4-3 win against No. 23 UCF and a 2-1 victory over No. 16 Georgia to highlight the 2023 season; Stetson ended Jax State's 13-game win streak to give the Gamecocks their first conference loss
- Three Stetson players earned postseason conference awards as Hannah Marien was recognized to the All-Freshman team, Kami Eppley was named to Second Team and Brianna Clary was a Third-Team selection
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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 Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), EKU (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).