Childers Named A-Sun Pitcher, Freshman of the Year
5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 7, 2008
Spartanburg, S.C. - After winning a share of the regular season championship in its first year as a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference, all that the USC Upstate softball program had to do was wait for the postseason individual accolades to come out to see just how much respect the Spartans garnered in the league. A week after winning the title, several of the Spartans earned individual accolades by the conference as the league announced its individual award winners and all-conference teams for the year Wednesday.
Morgan Childers highlighted the awards, being named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Year and taking home league Freshman of the Year honors as well. It marked the first time in league history that a player has been named the pitcher and freshman of the year in the same season. The pitcher of the year award is one of the two highest individual honors awarded by the A-Sun. Childers also earned A-Sun First Team All-Conference honors. Heidi Gibbs and Lauren Quevedo were A-Sun Second Team All-Conference selections. Kim Brasil, Childers, Courtney Feldon and Quevedo were named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team, with Childers being a unanimous selection. The five players helped lead Upstate to a 34-15 overall record and a 16-6 mark in the A-Sun.
"To have five different players receive postseason awards from the conference in our first year in Division I says a lot about the type of year we had," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "To have four freshmen honored on the all-freshman team certainly says a lot about how quickly they bought into our program, took their direction from the seniors, and were determined to make an impact. I am proud of all of our award winners. All are extremely deserving of the recognition they have received."
Childers, from Kings Mountain, N.C., was the most heralded Spartan throughout the year. She started her collegiate career by striking out a school record 18 batters against Tusculum in the season opener, broke the school's single-season records with 27 wins, 258 strikeouts and 39 appearances, and was named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Week on March 17, becoming the first Spartan to earn a weekly award from the A-Sun. She led the A-Sun with 27 wins, the fifth best effort in conference history, a 1.37 ERA and a .171 opponent's batting average. She also ranked among the league's best in every other statistical category. She won pitcher of the year honors over Kennesaw State's Brittany Matthews, who earned the same honor last season and was named the preseason pitcher of the year heading into the season. Matthews joined Childers as a first team all-conference selection this season.
"Morgan simply dominated from start to finish this season," said Hawkins. "She broke a school record in her first game and won both games of the doubleheader at Mercer to end the season. In between, she helped carry us. I knew she was going to be a very good pitcher, but I certainly didn't expect her to be this good and top a tremendously strong group of pitchers in the conference in her first year."
Childers made a school record 29 appearances this season, finishing with a 27-5 record in 214 innings pitched. She started 27 games and tossed 25 complete games on the year. She led the team and ranked second in the A-Sun with 10 shutouts, and also collected two saves on the year. She finished the A-Sun season with a 12-2 record and a save, having a direct impact on 13 of the 16 league wins.
 Heidi Gibbs has three all-conference awards in three years.  |
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Quevedo, a freshman from Wellington, Fla., hit her stride when Upstate began play in the A-Sun. She led the team in hitting in A-Sun games with a .403 batting average. She finished the season with a .316 batting average overall with seven home runs and three doubles. She collected 30 RBIs and scored 14 runs. Defensively, she was flawless, recording 184 putouts and nine assists without an error at first base. She was named the A-Sun Player of the Week on April 14 after leading Upstate to sweeps of Furman, Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast the week before with four home runs, including grand slams against Stetson and FGCU.
Brasil, a freshman from Mississauga, Ontario, and Feldon, a freshman from Denver, N.C., joined Childers and Quevedo as all-freshmen selections. Brasil hit .314, splitting time at catcher and left field for Upstate this season. She led the team and ranked second in the A-Sun with five triples and finished the year with eight doubles, two home runs, 36 runs and 21 RBIs. Feldon led the team and ranked sixth in the A-Sun with a .372 batting average. She also ranked ninth in the conference with a .449 on base percentage. She tied Quevedo for the team lead with seven home runs and topped the Spartans with 31 RBIs. She also collected six doubles and scored 21 runs. Feldon began the year as the Spartans' shortstop, but was moved to second base midway through the season.
2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Award Winners
Player of the Year - Carmen Paez, Florida Gulf Coast
Pitcher of the Year - Morgan Childers, USC Upstate
Freshman of the Year - Morgan Childers, USC Upstate
Coach of the Year - Kristen Peck, Lipscomb
2008 Atlantic Sun Conference All-Conference Teams
First Team
Pitcher - Morgan Childers (Upstate), Brittany Matthews (Kennesaw State); Catcher - Ashley Battaglia (North Florida); Infielder - *Cheyenne Jenks (Florida Gulf Coast), Jamie Madruga (Mercer), Andrea Migliori (Stetson), Jessica Paez (Florida Gulf Coast); Outfielder - *Carmen Paez (Florida Gulf Coast), Holly Oglesbee (Mercer), Courtney Quinn (Campbell); DP - Jessica Cross (Kennesaw State).
Second Team
Pitcher - Devyn Findley (North Florida), Alaina Jacobson (Lipscomb); Catcher - Amanda Littlejohn (Campbell); Infielder - Heather Hyde (North Florida), Abby Keese (Lipscomb), Lauren Quevedo (Upstate), Gwen Williams (North Florida); Outfielder - Heidi Gibbs (Upstate), Katie Hinton (Campbell), Meghan Pipkin (Belmont); DP - Kellie Sirus (Lipscomb)
2008 Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team
* Morgan Childers (Upstate), * Jessica Cross (Kennesaw State), *Katie Hinton (Campbell), Kim Brasil (Upstate), Morgan Campen (Florida Gulf Coast), Courtney Feldon (Upstate), Jenni Holtz (Mercer), Katie Kelly (Jacksonville), Keeli Michael (Campbell), Amanda Miller (Campbell), Courtney Platt (Florida Gulf Coast), Lauren Quevedo (Upstate)
* Unanimous Selections
