Transy’s Fitzpatrick, Meikel earn top conference awards
May 10, 2005
Greenwood , Ind. – Transylvania University’s Andrea Fitzpatrick ( Bowling Green, Ky.) and Amy Meikel ( Lexington, Ky.) have been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference softball Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. The duo helped lead the Pioneers to the conference championship this season and headline the 19-member 2005 all-HCAC team.
Fitzpatrick, a sophomore for the Pioneers, set a new conference record by hitting .625 (20-for-32) in conference play. She tallied 17 RBI, 23 runs, six home runs, five doubles, 17 walks, and had a slugging percentage of 1.406 against conference teams. The shortstop also played flawlessly in the field with 28 assists, 16 putouts, and no errors. Overall in 2005, Fitzpatrick batted .495 with 46 runs, 41 RBI, 32 walks, 13 doubles, nine home runs, five triples, and a slugging percentage of .946. She struck out just twice this season and led Transy to a 25-11-1 overall record.
Meikel, a junior pitcher, finished the conference season with a 0.71 earned run average and 7-0 record. She pitched 49.1 innings in conference play, struck out 40 hitters, and walked just ten. Meikel completed seven games and recorded four shutouts. For the entire season, she was 16-3 with an earned run average of 1.67. Meikel had seven shutouts, 18 complete games, and 109 strikeouts in 138.1 innings pitched. Her efforts helped the Pioneers record a 12-2 mark in conference play.
The HCAC has also awarded the Freshman of the Year award. Catcher Kelsey Sugg (Archbold, Ohio/Wauseon) was named the recipient after hitting .426 (20-for-47) with 13 RBI, seven runs, five doubles, and one home run in conference play. She hit .354 with 28 RBI, 11 runs, and nine doubles overall.
Defiance ’s head coach, Kary Kankey, was named the HCAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Kankey led the Yellow Jackets to a second place regular season finish and guided them to their second consecutive HCAC tournament championship. Defiance finished the regular season 27-15 and completed the conference year with an 11-3 record. Kankey and the Yellow Jackets have earned the automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament. They will play Pitt-Bradford on May 13 in the first round of the New Concord, Ohio regional.
Joining Meikel, Fitzpatrick, and Sugg on the All-HCAC team is Anderson University’s Jami Lawson (So., Pendleton, Ind.) and Amy Loehndorf (So., Milan, Mich.), Bluffton University’s Sarah Betts (Jr., Bryan, Ohio), Mandy Snider (Sr., Wapakoneta, Ohio), and Allison Lange (Sr., Archbold, Ohio), Defiance’s Alicia Allen (So., Grafton, Ohio), Chris Moreo (Sr., Delphos, Ohio) and Kelly VanderHorst (Sr., Celina, Ohio), Franklin College’s Heather Watson (Jr., Ninevah, Ind.) and Jill Carson (So., Plainfield, Ind.), Manchester College’s Holly McEathron (Jr., Mill Creek, Ind.), Mount St. Joseph’s Annie Neumann (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Carrie Higgins (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), and Amy Sunderman (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio), and Transylvania’s Holly Gibson (Jr., Greenfield, Ind.) and Katie Jones (Fr., New Palestine, Ind.).
The complete list of awards follows:
Most Valuable Player: Andrea Fitzpatrick, Transylvania University
Pitcher of the Year: Amy Meikel, Transylvania University
Freshman of the Year: Kelsey Sugg, Defiance College
Coach of the Year: Kary Kankey, Defiance College
All-HCAC
Jami Lawson |
Anderson |
Sophomore |
SS |
Amy Loehndorf |
Anderson |
Sophomore |
3B |
Sarah Betts |
Bluffton |
Junior |
P |
Allison Lange |
Bluffton |
Senior |
CF |
Mandy Snider |
Bluffton |
Senior |
SS |
Kelly VanderHorst |
Defiance |
Senior |
C/DP |
Chris Moreo |
Defiance |
Senior |
SS |
Alicia Allen |
Defiance |
Sophomore |
P/OF |
Kelsey Sugg |
Defiance |
Freshman |
DP/C |
Heather Watson |
Franklin |
Junior |
3B |
Jill Carson |
Franklin |
Sophomore |
CF |
Holly McEathron |
Manchester |
Junior |
C |
Annie Neumann |
Mt. St. Joseph |
Senior |
OF |
Carrie Higgins |
Mt. St. Joseph |
Senior |
3B |
Amy Sunderman |
Mt. St. Joseph |
Junior |
OF |
Andrea Fitzpatrick |
Transylvania |
Sophomore |
SS |
Amy Meikel |
Transylvania |
Junior |
P |
Katie Jones |
Transylvania |
Freshman |
RF |
Holly Gibson |
Transylvania |
Junior |
1B |