Spartan Softball Signs Five During Early Signing Period
11/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Nov. 16, 2007
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate head softball coach Chris Hawkins announces the signing of five student-athletes to national letters of intent during the early signing period.
 |
"To me, it is more important to bring in athletic players rather that bringing in one-dimensional players. This recruiting class brings speed, depth, versatility and character to our team. Mixing this recruiting class with the players we already have in the program really makes me believe that we are on the right track to being able to compete on the Division I level."
Head Coach Chris Hawkins
|
"Speed and pitching is what this year recruiting class is about," said Hawkins. "I am very excited to be able to get these players. They could have gone to many schools with a bigger name, but chose USC Upstate. For that I am honored.
"To me, it is more important to bring in athletic players rather that bringing in one-dimensional players. This recruiting class brings speed, depth, versatility and character to our team. Mixing this recruiting class with the players we already have in the program really makes me believe that we are on the right track to being able to compete on the Division I level."
Bartha (Vaughn, Ontario) has been an outfielder for the Chinguacousy Cougars in Ontario, Canada, for eight seasons, leading the organizations teams in stolen bases all eight years. She led the Cougars to the silver medal in the Provincial Championships and a fourth-place finish in the Canadian National Championships, finishing the year with a .414 batting average. The Cougars won the Provincial Championship in 2006 and finished fourth in the Canadian National Championships.
Bartha was named the Senior Female Athlete of the Year in high school, leading the softball team to the 2007 City of Toronto championship and earning Most Valuable Player honors. She was named the team's MVP in 2006 and 2007.
The Honor Roll student with a 3.8 GPA also participates in volleyball, track and swimming. She was the City of York champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay in track and was first in the regional in the 100 meter freestyle in swimming last year.
Hamilton (Atlanta, Ga.) was the 2007 3A State Player of the Year in Georgia after leading Blessed Trinity High School to the GHSA state championship. She also led the team to the Elite Eight in 2005 and 2006. She is a two-time All-State selection and has earned three All-Area and All-Region honors. She is a two-time All-County Pitcher of the Year. Entering her senior season, she has a high school career record of 64-18 with 703 strikeouts in 540 innings pitched with a 0.56 earned run average.
The National Honor Society member also plays travel ball with the Atlanta Vipers Gold team. She has helped the Vipers Gold to five ASA National Championship appearances with three Top 20 finishes. She is 9-7 in the circle with the squad. Hamilton is listed as a top recruit for 2008 on rivals.com. In addition to softball, she is a three-time letterwinner in basketball.
Lewis (Charlotte, N.C.) has been the starting shortstop at Hopewell High School for three years. She was the team's Offensive Player of the Year as a junior and was the team's Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman and sophomore. An All-Region selection last year, she is a three-time All-Conference and All-Mecklenberg County honoree.
Lewis hit .446 as a junior, finishing the year with a .517 on-base percentage and a .730 slugging percentage as the team's leader in singles and home runs. She collected 29 stolen bases. She hit .459 as a sophomore with a .588 on-base percentage and a .705 slugging percentage.
Molkenthin (Valrico, Fla.) was a First Team Western All-Conference and All-County selection her junior year as an outfielder at Bloomingdale High School in 2007. She earned Second Team All-County and Honorable Mention All-County honors in 2006 and 2005. She has lettered three times in softball and twice in swimming. She led Bloomingdale with a .522 batting average last year with a .547 on-base percentage and a .711 slugging percentage. She collected a team-high 47 hits in 90 at bats with seven doubles and five triples. She collected 33 RBIs and scored 25 runs.
Williams (Simpsonville, S.C.) is a five-year letterwinner at Hillcrest High School and has been a starter and team captain at catcher for four years. She helped lead Hillcrest to the 2004 4A state championship and was a member of the team that won a state record 96 straight games. The 96 straight wins remains the third longest streak in the country.
Williams led Hillcrest to the 2007 region championship. She finished the year with a .366 batting average with a .480 on-base percentage and six stolen bases.
