CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference announced today their annual softball awards, USC Upstate freshman outfielder Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio) earned Freshman of the Year honors, while five of her teammates joined her on the All-Conference list.
 
Cooper becomes the first player since USC Upstate joined the Big South Conference to earn Freshman of the Year honors. The Ohio native is now the sixth player to earn the Freshman of the Year Award in the Division I era. Cooper joins an elite club of players that includes, Karla Beasley (2015), Lexi Shubert (2014), Jamie Ujvari (2013), Shellie Robinson (2012) and Morgan Childers (2008) as past Freshman of the Year Award winners.  
 
 
Cooper a three-time Big South freshman of the week selection also found herself on the Second Team All-Conference team and the All-Freshman team for her performance on the field this season. The Ohio native played in 39 games and made 37 starts in her rookie season for the Spartans. Cooper finished second on the team with a .325 batting average (9^th in the Big South), runs scored 26 and total hits 41. The freshman standout finished the regular season with seven doubles, a triple, three homeruns, 19 RBI's and 59 total bases. Cooper recorded 11 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games this season. The freshman also recorded an on-base percentage of .375, stole nine bases and has a perfect fielding percentage with 42 putouts. These are the first Big South postseason honors of her career.
 
Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, while also earning a nod to the All-Academic Team this season. On the field, Price started all 41 games at shortstop and led the team with a .367 batting average (3^rd in the Big South). The Palmetto State native led the team with 51 hits (4^th in the Big South), 35 runs scored (5^th in the Big South), 20 stolen bases (3^rd in the Big South) and 13 multi-hit games. The sophomore also recorded six multi-RBI games this season, tallied 24 RBI's, 60 total bases and a .432 slugging percentage. Price recorded a .414 on-base percentage and in the field, she registered 36 putouts and 68 assists. This is the second time in her career that she has been a First Team All-Conference selection.  
 
Off the field, Price is a secondary education major with a 3.87 Grade Point Average (GPA). Price has been named to the Chancellor's List four times and the Dean's List twice. The Palmetto State native is also a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete and a two-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll member. Price is also active in both SAAC and FCA at USC Upstate.
 
 
Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.) earned a spot on both the All-Conference First Team and the All-Freshman team. Darnell started all 41 games behind the plate this season and earned Big South Player of the Week honors and earned Freshman of the Week honors on a trio of occasions. The freshman finished the season with a .302 batting average, scored 15 runs and registered 39 total hits. Darnell recorded six doubles, led the team with nine homeruns (4^th in the Big South) and 36 RBI's (2^nd in the Big South). Darnell also led the team with 72 total bases, a .558 slugging percentage and finished with a team best 11 multi-RBI games this year. Darnell also recorded 12-multi-hit games and posted a .362 on-base percentage. In the field, she recorded 233 putouts and 13 assists. This is Darnell's first postseason accolade from the Big South Conference.
 
 
Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) earned a Second Team All-Conference nod and earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Domingue started 4 of the 35 games she appeared in this season and was a two-time Big South Freshman of the Week selection. The Palmetto State native batted .301 on the season, scored 22 runs and totaled 34 hits. The freshman led the team with 10 doubles (4^th in the Big South), registered a triple and finished second on the team in homeruns (6) and RBI's (31). Domingue tallied nine multi-hit performances, nine multi-RBI games and led the team with a 13- game hitting streak earlier this season. The freshman finished the season with 64 total bases, .566 slugging percentage, .331 on-base percentage and a .985 fielding percentage. This is the first postseason accolade from the Big South Conference in her career.
 
 
Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.) has been named to the Second Team All-Conference list for her performance on the field this season. Brown threw a no-hitter at the start of the season and was a three-time Big South Pitcher of the Week selection. The Peach State native finished with an 11-4 overall record (3^rd most wins in the Big South), in 23 appearances (4^th in the Big South), and 20 starts (4^th in the Big South) on the season. The redshirt junior threw nine complete games, three shutouts and recorded a save in 114.1 innings of work (4^th in the Big South). Brown gave up 45 earned runs, struck out 115 batters (4^th in the Big South) and opponents batted just .233 against her this season. This is Brown's first postseason accolade from the Big South Conference in her career.
 
 
Savannah Brown (Mint Hill, N.C.) earned a spot on the Big South All-Freshman Team this season. Brown earned Big South Pitcher of the Week accolades at the start of the season. Brown finished with an ERA of 2.89 and recorded an 8-5 overall recorded in 20 appearances. Through 16 starts this season, Brown has thrown eight complete games and recorded a pair of shutouts this season. In 87.1 innings of work, she allowed 36 earned runs and 66 strikeouts. Opponents batted just .266 against her this season. This is Brown's first postseason accolade from the Big South Conference in her career.   
 
 
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will battle Longwood on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Big South Tournament.
 
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