Childers Earns NFCA All-Region Honors
5/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 14, 2008
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate standout softball pitcher Morgan Childers continued to add to her impressive array of individual awards this year as the freshman has been named to the NFCA Southeast All-Region Team, announced the organization Wednesday. Childers becomes the first Upstate student-athlete to earn an individual honor beyond the conference level and on a regional or national level since the University moved its athletics program to Division I this year.
"Morgan is well deserving of this honor," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "It says a lot about her, and our team, that she earned an all-region selection in her first season in college and our first year in Division I. She had a dominant year and performed consistently game-in and game-out. She pitched in 39 of our 49 games and did so at a high level. While softball is a team game, I can safely say that without her we would not have been as successful this season."
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) announced its first and second team all-region selections today and Childers was named a Second Team All-Region selection in the Southeast Region. By earning all-region honors, she will be placed in the pool for All-America consideration. Members of the Southeast All-Region Team hail from schools in the Atlantic Sun (a-Sun), Southeastern (SEC), Atlantic Coast (ACC), Conference USA, Big South, Southern, Colonial Athletic Association and Middle Eastern Athletic (MEAC) conferences. Childers is one of seven players from the A-Sun to earn all-region honors, joining Jessica Cross (Kennesaw State), Cheyenne Jenks (FGCU), Amanda Lindsay (Stetson), Andrea Migliori (Stetson), Carmen Paez (FGCU) and Courtney Quinn (Campbell) on the list.
Childers had an outstanding year in the circle for Upstate, earning the win in 27 of the Spartans' 34 victories, including 12 of Upstate's 16 victories in the A-Sun. Her performance helped lead the Spartans to a share of the regular season A-Sun championship in the school's first year as a member of NCAA Division I and the A-Sun. She led the A-Sun in wins (27), a 1.37 ERA and a .171 opponent's batting average en route to being named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year. It marked the first time in league history that a player earned pitcher and freshman of the year honors in the same season. A first team all-conference selection, her 27 wins was the fifth-best mark in conference history. She also earned a spot on the A-Sun All-Freshman Team, finishing 2008 with a 27-5 record and two saves.
Childers started the season striking out a school record 18 batters in her collegiate debut against Tusculum on Feb. 13 and closed out the season with a pair of wins in a doubleheader sweep at Mercer on Apr. 27. In between, she had a record-breaking year. In addition to the single-game school strikeouts record, she established new single-season school records with 27 wins, 258 strikeouts, 10 shutouts, 39 appearances and 214 innings pitched.
2008 NFCA Southeast All-Region Team
First Team
Pitcher - Stacey Nelson (Florida)
Pitcher - Lisa Norris (North Carolina)
Pitcher - Allison Kime (Central Florida)
Catcher - Catherine Lee (Georgia State)
First Base - Alexandra Gardiner (Florida)
Second Base - Aja Paculba (Florida)
Third Base - Cheyenne Jenks (Florida Gulf Coast)
Shortstop - Shanna Smith (N.C. State)
Outfield - Carmen Paez (Florida Gulf Coast)
Outfield - Francesca Enea (Florida)
Outfield - Lisa Kingsmore (Winthrop)
Utility/Pitcher - Danielle Spaulding (North Carolina)
Utility/Non-Pitcher - Jennifer Jacobs (North Carolina)
Second Team
Pitcher - Morgan Childers (USC Upstate)
Pitcher - Cari Wooldridge (Winthrop)
Pitcher - Amanda Lindsay (Stetson)
Pitcher - Ashley Taylor (Radford)
Pitcher - Amanda Black (Hampton)
Catcher - Alyssa Allbritten (N.C. State)
First Base - Andrea Migliori (Stetson)
Second Base - Cassandra Palmer (North Carolina)
Third Base - Alisa Goler (Georgia)
Shortstop - Robyne Siliga (Georgia Southern)
Outfield - Breanna Brown (North Carolina)
Outfield - Kim Waleszonia (Florida)
Outfield - Courtney Quinn (Campbell)
Outfield - Courtney Young (Howard)
Utility/Pitcher - Jessica Cross (Kennesaw State)
Utility/Non-Pitcher - Ashton Payne (South Carolina)
