Valdosta State Dominates All-GSC Softball Team
The Gulf South Conference office has announced the 2012 All-GSC Softball Team and award winners and Valdosta State’s record-breaking season has helped the Blazers dominate the selections.
VSU, which set a league record for most consecutive wins and most league wins in a single-season, placed a league-high nine student-athletes on the All-GSC Team, including seven that were First Team selections. The Blazers also swept the individual awards, with Courtney Albritton earning Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Alanna Hadley named Pitcher of the Year and Thomas Macera taking home Coach of the Year honors.
Alabama-Huntsville had seven All-GSC selections, six on the First Team. West Alabama grabbed the final two spots on the First Team as its only selections. North Alabama and West Florida also had two picks while Delta State and West Georgia each had one player chosen.
Valdosta State Outfielder Albritton Named Player and Freshman of the Year
Valdosta State outfielder Courtney Albritton took the Gulf South Conference by storm in her first season, winning the Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. The Sycamore, Ga. native was twice named Player of the Week and leads the league in runs scored (57). She also is among the league leader in all major offensive statistics including home runs (13, 2nd), runs batted in (48, 3rd), batting average (.445, 2nd) slugging percentage (.817, 2nd), on-base percentage (.481, 6th), hits (73, 2nd) and doubles (16, 3rd).
Valdosta State’s Hadley Named Pitcher of the Year
Valdosta State’s Alanna Hadley earned Pitcher of the Year honors, sending the top pitcher award to VSU for the third consecutive season.
Hadley, a senior from Dacula, Ga., won Pitcher of the Week honors five times, including four consecutive weeks, and was once named National Pitcher of the Week in March. She lost her first and last regular season starts by 1-0 scores but won did not lose a start in between. She leads the GSC in every major statistical category, going 22-2 with three saves, a 0.66 ERA and .164 opponent’s batting average. She has 121 strikeouts, tossed 22 complete games and has 10 shutouts in 158 innings. Hadley also had seven starts where she gave up two hits or less.
Valdosta State’s Macera Named Coach of the Year
VSU’s Thomas Macera is the GSC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. The Blazers won the GSC regular season crown and set a new league record for consecutive wins (36) and conference wins (26). VSU enters the GSC Tournament with a 44-3 record and has spent the past four weeks as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Macera has reached a few individual milestones as well. He eclipsed the 500-career win plateau this season and surpassed 300 career victories at Valdosta State, while also setting the new mark for career wins at VSU (currently 326).
2012 ALL-GSC SOFTBALL FIRST TEAM
|
POS.
|
NAME
|
SCHOOL
|
YEAR
|
B/T
|
HT
|
HOMETOWN
|
|
P
|
Alanna Hadley
|
VSU
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-6
|
Dacula, Ga.
|
|
P
|
Kristen Skinner
|
UWA
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-10
|
Toxey, Ala.
|
|
P
|
Whitney Gilbert
|
UAH
|
Jr.
|
R/R
|
5-7
|
Rogersville, Tenn.
|
|
C
|
Cortney McNett
|
UAH
|
Jr.
|
R/R
|
5-6
|
Huntsville, Ala.
|
|
1B
|
Stephanie Needham
|
UAH
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-10
|
Trussville, Ala.
|
|
2B
|
April Hutchens
|
VSU
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-3
|
Riverside, Ill.
|
|
SS
|
Marti Littlefield
|
VSU
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-9
|
Nashville, Ga.
|
|
3B
|
Samantha Posey
|
VSU
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-3
|
Leesburg, Ga.
|
|
DP
|
Kelli Long
|
UAH
|
Sr.
|
L/L
|
5-5
|
Sterling, Ill.
|
|
OF
|
Courtney Albritton
|
VSU
|
Fr.
|
R/R
|
5-4
|
Sycamore, Ga.
|
|
OF
|
Mary Kelley
|
UAH
|
So.
|
L/L
|
5-7
|
Mobile, Ala.
|
|
OF
|
Tamara Vickers
|
UWA
|
Jr.
|
L/L
|
5-3
|
Lawndale, Calif.
|
|
OF
|
Morgan Johnson
|
VSU
|
Jr.
|
R/R
|
5-5
|
Macon, Ga.
|
|
1B
|
Natalia Morozova
|
VSU
|
Sr.
|
L/L
|
5-6
|
Moscow, Russia
|
|
3B
|
Abby MacKay
|
UAH
|
Jr.
|
R/R
|
5-8
|
Madison, Ala.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Player of the Year— Courtney Albritton, Valdosta State
|
|
Pitcher of the Year— Alanna Hadley, Valdosta State
|
|
Freshman of the Year— Courtney Albritton, Valdosta State
|
|
Coach of the Year— Thomas Macera, Valdosta State
|
2012 ALL-GSC SOFTBALL SECOND TEAM
|
POS.
|
NAME
|
SCHOOL
|
YEAR
|
B/T
|
HT
|
HOMETOWN
|
|
P
|
Brianna Hancock
|
VSU
|
So.
|
R/R
|
5-9
|
Warner Robbins, Ga.
|
|
P
|
Whitney Toler
|
UAH
|
So.
|
R/R
|
5-8
|
Fayetteville, Ga.
|
|
C
|
Kathryn Young
|
UNA
|
Sr.
|
R/R
|
5-7
|
Florence, Ala.
|
|
C
|
Ashley Steinhilber
|
VSU
|
Jr.
|
R/L
|
5-6
|
Glen Ellyn. Ill
|
|
2B
|
Shelby Goodman
|
UNA
|
So.
|
R/R
|
5-3
|
Bolivar, Tenn.
|
|
2B
|
Amber Adcock
|
DSU
|
Fr.
|
R/R
|
5-4
|
Brandon, Miss.
|
|
3B
|
Nicole Yancey
|
UWG
|
So.
|
R/R
|
5-4
|
Carrollton, Ga.
|
|
SS
|
Kathryn Whitlock
|
UAH
|
Jr.
|
L/R
|
5-7
|
Arab, Ala.
|
|
OF
|
Emma Johansen
|
UWF
|
Jr.
|
L/R
|
5-4
|
Johnston City, Ill.
|
|
DP
|
Sarah Scott
|
UWF
|
Jr.
|
R/R
|
5-7
|
Tallahassee, Fla.
|